According to the ICD, sprain of the elbow joint belongs to the group of pathological conditions indicated by the general code S53 ("Dislocation, sprain and overstrain of the capsular-ligamentous apparatus of the elbow joint"). This is an extremely uncomfortable condition, which is due to the anatomical features of the area: among all the articular elements, the elbow is distinguished by a particular complexity of the device. The joint is represented by three bone joints: the bones of the shoulder, elbow and radius. Nature provides for a common bag of the joint. Here are large branches of the nervous, vascular systems. Due to these elements, the forearm and shoulder are connected with the ANS, CNS, receive blood, and therefore nutrition.
Must know
The joint bursa is not the only problem area in this area. There is a thin, slightly stretched joint capsule, the kinks of which lead to the formation of abundant folds. Strong ligaments are provided on the sides, but there are none in the back and front. This structural feature makes the area susceptible to injury. Medical statistics show that sprains, dislocations and subluxations, as well as torn ligaments, are more than common.
One has only to hit the elbow, as a sharp, excruciating pain pierces the whole body. This feeling is familiar to any person. Only the pain syndrome is not a symptom of a sprain of the elbow ligaments: the sensation indicates a nerve infringement. Anatomically, the ulnar nerve is located near the skin, not protected by the muscular skeleton. It is not difficult to determine whether this is a pinching or an injury requiring treatment: in the first case, the pain is severe, but it disappears in a minute or two. Often, the hand becomes numb.
Relevance of the issue
Muscle rupture, sprain in such a short period of time without specific medical care will not disappear. As can be seen from statistical studies, it is rupture, sprain - the most common domestic, sports injuries in the elbow joint.
It is worth remembering that stretching is a term that is not taken literally. If a diagnosis of “elbow sprain” is made (ICD code S530), this does not mean that the tissues seem to be rubber and can stretch freely. The term is applied to a situation of partial rupture. At the same time, the harmis applied to individual fibers that form the area. But a complete rupture is much harder, since the ligament loses its integrity completely or breaks away from the support system at the attachment point.
Where did the trouble come from?
Modern medicine knows quite a lot of reasons why a sprain of the elbow joint, indicated by the code S53 in the ICD-10, may occur. The classic version is a sloppy, careless, overly abrupt movement. Higher chance of injury if the amplitude was unnatural. An elbow injury can be obtained if there has been a bruise, a person has fallen, hit, or tried to sharply lift a heavy object. For some, the root cause is a prolonged aggressive physical impact. So, people who do hard work every day that create a significant load on their hands are prone to sprains. A rather rare cause is a muscle spasm that arose unpredictably, which was especially strong.
It is not only against the background of an injury that treatment of symptoms of an elbow sprain may be necessary. Damage to the integrity of the elements forming the elbow can be observed due to the degeneration of organic tissues, muscle and articular elements. This is often explained by age-related changes, but in others it is associated with pathological processes occurring in the body. The root cause of the condition is the deterioration in the quality of blood supply to the joint, due to which the tissues suffer from hypoxia and lack of nutrients. osteophytes are formed. Risk group - people over fifty years old. Quite often, various forms of sprains, tearsdiagnosed in diabetics and patients with tuberculosis.
How to notice?
Symptoms that indicate the need for treatment for an elbow sprain vary from case to case. Much depends on the scale of the injury and the reasons that provoked the damage. As a rule, the manifestations gradually increase: after a while, the symptoms are brighter than in the first minutes after the injury. The phenomenon that most attracts the attention of a person is severe soreness, which does not subside if the affected area is left at rest.
The classic sign of an elbow sprain is swelling of the area. If you press on the affected area, the elbow will respond with severe pain. The mobility of the element is lost, for some the pain is so strong that it is impossible to move the elbow in principle.
When things go wrong
As mentioned above, a gap is a condition close to stretching, differing in the scale of damage, which means that the manifestations of the pathology are generally close to those described earlier. The main difference is the strength of pain, the amount of edema. Muscle contractions allow you to localize a small hole by touch. Doctors call it the area of retraction. The site is adjacent to the attachment point of the ligament. The study of the elbow shows the instability of the articular region, visually and through instrumental studies, hematomas can be fixed, due to intra-articular hemorrhages.
Tear (severe form of elbow sprain)indicates a change in the contours of the affected area. This is especially pronounced if the cause of the phenomenon is a fracture, dislocation. To notice the sign, you need to compare the injured elbow with a he althy one.
Injured person notes numbness in the injured hand, which appears simultaneously with a tingling sensation. This is due to impaired blood flow. Local fever possible.
It is almost impossible to figure out on your own whether there is a stretch or tear. To make a diagnosis, the doctor will refer the patient to instrumental studies.
What to do?
Treatment of an elbow sprain starts with providing first aid to the victim. It is necessary to ensure the immobility of the affected area, apply a cooling compress. A fairly simple method helps to prevent tissue swelling, relieves pain. Warming up, like warm compresses, will not give any benefit; moreover, it will worsen the patient's condition, increase pain and slow down healing. Such exposure should be avoided immediately after injury and for the next few days.
In a classic elbow sprain, a bandage is often the only treatment needed. Complex approaches are not required. Fixation is necessary to accelerate the healing of the diseased area. But in the case of complex stretching and rupture, the doctor will observe the patient for some time. You will have to go through a treatment program with the use of special medications, you should not refuse clinical procedures. The most unpleasant variants of the course of pathology are cases of accumulation in the articularareas of synovial fluid, spotting.
Surgeon Wanted
If a simple, uncomplicated elbow sprain is diagnosed by a doctor, a conservative treatment is likely to be recommended. If the case is difficult, the patient may be referred for surgery. Surgical measures are aimed at restoring the integrity of the ligamentous element. To do this, tendons are taken from the forearm, through which the tears are connected. After such an event, recovery is possible only if the site is properly fixed with a splint. The duration of wearing reaches a couple of weeks, after which the patient will have to undergo a course of physiotherapy and therapeutic exercises, otherwise it will not work to return the elbow to its former mobility.
Drugs: what will help?
Even if the injury is very small, an ointment with an analgesic effect will significantly alleviate the condition when the ligaments of the elbow joint are sprained. You should not choose a pharmacy product for yourself, it is better to consult a doctor. The doctor will determine which remedy will be most useful and effective in a particular case. With a serious injury to the elbow, it will not be possible to do without analgesic drugs of local and systemic action. The doctor draws up the therapeutic program in such a way as to stop pain, eliminate tissue swelling and exclude the activity of the focus of inflammation.
Non-hormonal anti-inflammatory drugs will benefit people in need of elbow sprain treatmentdrugs. They are available in tablet form, topical preparations (gels, ointment), as well as in the form of powders for the preparation of solutions - they must be injected directly into the affected area of the body. In combination with non-hormonal medications, cooling drugs are often prescribed. Ointments "Troxerutin", "Indovazin" are popular. These medicinal formulations relieve puffiness, normalize blood circulation, and stabilize the work of even the smallest capillaries. In the presence of a hematoma, the drugs stimulate its rapid resorption.
What else will help?
Choosing how to treat an elbow sprain, you should look at pharmaceutical products rich in vitamin compounds from category B. Such drugs normalize nervous activity, stabilize conductivity, and positively affect the condition of the affected area in general.
For the benefit of patients who want to recover faster, funds will be used that activate regenerative processes that suppress inflammatory foci. On sale there are special preparations that have such an effect on the tissues that form ligaments. Products "Target T", "Traumeel S" are considered especially in demand.
And if I don't want to go to the pharmacy?
For those who cannot afford pharmaceutical products or are unwilling to trust their he alth to the horses, there are numerous folk remedies. Treatment of an elbow sprain in this way, doctors say, requires moretime, and the results may not be as positive as when applying the developments of official medicine, but the choice is always individual.
A smart option is a combination of medicine recipes and medicinal products prescribed by a doctor. By choosing traditional medicine as an additional measure of influence on the affected areas, you can shorten the rehabilitation period. As a rule, such products are resorted to in the recovery period after removing the bandage. If the injury is simple, there are no complications, treatment of sprains of the elbow joint with folk remedies will help to quickly cope with swelling and relieve pain. Some "homemade" drugs activate regenerative processes.
Alternative Medicine Prescriptions
You can practice with homemade potato ointments the treatment of sprains in the elbow joint. To do this, one raw root crop is peeled, ground through a meat grinder or grater, mixed with finely chopped onions and honey. All components are used in equal amounts. The composition is applied to the diseased elbow areas, closed with a plastic bag, on top - with a warm shawl. The compress is kept for about two hours, but not longer.
You can use blue clay for healing. The product is diluted with clean water and a few drops of eucalyptus or fir essential oil are mixed into the composition. Clay is applied to a clean natural rag with a two-centimeter layer (or thicker), then applied to the affected areas. The duration of the procedure is until the product dries.
Healers assure that it is possible to applyfor the treatment of elbow aloe. A freshly cut leaf of the plant is passed through a meat grinder, the resulting slurry is evenly distributed over the affected part of the body and fixed with a plastic bag. From above, the compress is covered with a warm shawl.
Checking status
It is impossible to say exactly how long an elbow sprain heals - it depends on the severity of the injury and the characteristics of the case, the tone of the body, the person's lifestyle and the presence of metabolic problems. Much is determined by the chosen treatment program. In general, a sprain is considered a serious injury, which means that the victim should turn to professionals as soon as possible, only in this case the treatment will be delayed for a relatively short period of time.
In hospital conditions, during the initial diagnosis, and later - to monitor the success of the chosen correction program, the patient is sent for research procedures. An x-ray, MRI should be done. Ultrasound examination of the elbow joint is indicated. Only carrying out all the activities helps to clarify the severity of the injury, and as you recover, control the success of the process.
Doctor: helps comprehensively
A distinctive feature of the treatment of an elbow sprain is the need for a complex program. The doctor will select suitable anesthetics, drugs that relax muscle fibers, edema remedies and chondroprotectors. It will not work to choose such a complex on your own, the risk of inefficiency is too highcourse, the appearance of severe side effects.
You can't do without physical therapy. It is included in the course of treatment of sprains of the elbow joint to increase the effectiveness of the main drug therapy. Specific procedures activate tissue regeneration, shorten the recovery period. Most often, they resort to electrophoresis, using magnetic and electric currents to influence the affected areas of the body. The classic element of the physiotherapy course is wave or laser treatment. Many patients are shown healing mud, paraffin applications. The specific set of procedures will depend on the specifics of the injury and the condition of the patient's body. The doctor makes the program individually.
Surgery: subtleties
It is not uncommon for elbow sprains to be treated without surgery. An urgent operation is necessary for severe trauma and severe rupture of organic tissues. The surgeon sutures the damaged internal parts of the body. As the operation is completed, regenerative processes start, as a result of which a colloidal scar appears. The patient's task (under the supervision of a doctor) is to undergo a full-fledged rehabilitation course that helps restore normal mobility to the diseased area and the ability to function adequately.
As far as it is reasonable to operate on a patient in a particular case, a qualified doctor should decide. The indications for the operation are pronounced ruptures, combined with lesions of the nervous system. Many, however,complain: if after the operation, due to a strong sprain of the ligaments of the elbow joint, a splint was applied, the person loses mobility for a long time. It should be understood: if the doctor advised this treatment option, it is likely that the classical conservative approach is not applicable or its practice is associated with an increased risk of complications. If the condition is relatively mild, the doctor will advise a non-invasive option, regular visits to the clinic for physiotherapy treatments. Currently, conservative treatment is considered optimal, so the patient will not be referred for surgery without urgent need.
How hard is it?
Both treatment and prognosis largely depend on the severity of the person's injury. Elbow sprains are classified into one of three categories of severity, depending on the symptoms. The simplest and most problem-free option is a slight stretching, in which only a small area of \u200b\u200bthe organ is harmed. The patient is worried about mild pain, and there are practically no restrictions on mobility. The task of the patient is to minimize the load on the damaged area. At the first degree of stretching, there will probably not even be swelling of the affected area.
Second degree elbow sprain symptoms indicate partial tears. A person is worried about severe pain, there is severe swelling. Signs also include hematomas in the subcutaneous layer.
The third degree of damage is considered the most severe, that is, the condition when the ligament is torn almost completely. The patient feels severe pain, sensations are sharp,the elbow is swollen. Swelling and soreness cover not only the area of injury, but also the tissues above and below the site. The bruises are very noticeable, large, and the ability to move the joint is completely absent due to pain. The injury is associated not only with discomfort in everyday life, but also with negative consequences in the distant future, if a person neglects the advice of a doctor regarding the restoration of joint performance. Perhaps the area will be prone to frequent damage, unstable, and its constituent elements will be weak. Against the background of a third-degree sprain, there is a high risk in the future of often encountering repeated violations of the integrity of the joint under the influence of the most seemingly insignificant aggressive factors.
What do the doctors say?
According to official recommendations, in case of sprain, the patient needs immediate first aid, no less important is the responsible approach to the implementation of all points of the therapeutic program developed by the doctor. Doctors are urged to assess the injury adequately, not to treat their he alth negligently, otherwise there is a high risk of a decrease in the quality of life for many years and decades. Irresponsible treatment can cause chronic injury, reduce a person's ability to work.
Status Progress
The first stage after an injury that caused a sprain is called acute. Its duration varies from a week to two. The immobilization of the limb comes to the fore of all recreational activities at this step. In some cases, the best solution isthe imposition of a rigid bandage, but with certain types of stretching, the doctor will advise the use of a prosthesis. In medicine, it is called an orthopedic splint. To make the discomfort less, I prescribe analgesics to the patient.
At the first stage, it is important to get rid of puffiness. Phonophoresis is considered the optimal procedure. Apply means to combat edema, as well as compounds that inhibit the activity of the inflammatory focus. Having eliminated swelling and inflammation, you can start a regeneration program with thermal procedures with paraffin. Useful ozocerite. Some patients are shown pearl baths or procedures with radon. Such activities activate metabolic processes, which means that the affected area receives more nutrition and can recover faster.
The importance of physical education, gymnastics cannot be underestimated. Classes begin to practice even before the removal of the bandage. The sooner the course of restoration of mobility begins, the better results it will bring. Ligament injury is associated with the appearance of a pathological pain source in the muscle fibers of the nearby zone. This provokes, as a reflex, a muscular response that initiates a spasm, which is an attempt by the body to protect itself from harmful external influences. To exclude an unpleasant condition, it is necessary to come to the clinic for a therapeutic massage and perform a set of therapeutic exercises every day that relax the muscles and increase the tone of the area.
Rehab
This state progress step is of particular importancemuscle relaxation. The task of measures aimed at achieving muscle relaxation is to exclude incorrect stereotyped movements caused by the injury. Muscle relaxation is achieved through heat, electrical stimulation and manual therapy. Successful muscle relaxation is replaced by muscle correction, that is, procedures whose task is to form the correct stereotype of mobility. The final step is toning the muscle fibers, aimed at consolidating the developed patterns.
