Your elbow does more work than most people realize, from lifting groceries to playing pickleball. This joint connects your upper arm bone to the two bones in your forearm, allowing you to bend, straighten, and rotate your arm throughout the day. Because the elbow handles so many different movements, pain in this area can be disruptive and sometimes tricky to pinpoint.
What Elbow Pain Can Feel Like
Pain in the elbow may be constant or come and go, often intensifying with movement. It might be sharp or a dull ache. You might also notice tingling or numbness running down into your hand. Because most daily tasks involve a combination of elbow motions, it’s common for patients to struggle to identify exactly which movement triggers their symptoms.
Finding the Source
At Woodstock Chiropractic, we begin every assessment with a thorough history. We ask about your symptoms, when and how they started, and what makes them better or worse. From there, we perform a targeted physical exam to identify whether the issue involves the muscles, tendons, nerves, ligaments, joints, or bones of the elbow.
Common sources of elbow pain include inflamed or compressed nerves, tendon inflammation, muscle spasms, ligament injury, and joint damage. It’s also worth noting that irritation in the neck or upper back can contribute to elbow symptoms, which is something that’s easy to miss without a thorough evaluation.
If imaging is needed, we have on-site X-ray and can order MRIs, CT scans, or other advanced imaging as appropriate.
How We Treat Elbow Pain
As an injury-based clinic, Woodstock Chiropractic focuses on getting to the root of your pain rather than simply managing symptoms. Chiropractic care for elbow pain may include massage or manual therapy to restore range of motion, rehabilitative exercises using weights or elastic bands, gentle joint adjustments, light therapy to support healing, sports taping, cupping, and electric muscle stimulation.
We also give patients practical home care guidance: ice or heat depending on inflammation levels, wrist stretches, a temporary elbow brace if needed, and posture modifications including sleeping position.
Ready to Get Your Elbow Checked Out
If your elbow has been slowing you down, you don’t have to keep working around it. If your case requires additional support, we’ll refer you to the appropriate specialist, and if your injury affects your ability to work, we can provide work restriction documentation for your employer during treatment. Contact our practice today to schedule an assessment.
BOOK YOUR ELBOW ASSESSMENT