Diagnose

Repair

Recover

Wear and Tear (Osteoarthritis)

Osteoarthritis occurs when the cartilage surface of the elbow is damaged or becomes worn. The elbow is one of the least affected joints due to its well matched joint surfaces and strong stabilizing ligaments. However, the cartilage can be damaged because of a previous injury such as elbow dislocation or fracture, or due to degeneration of the joint cartilage from age. It usually begins after age 50, although some patients can have symptoms earlier.Osteoarthritis usually affects the weightbearing joints, such as the hip and knee.

A doctor can usually diagnose elbow arthritis based upon a patient's symptoms and standard X-rays. X-rays show the arthritic changes. Most of the time, advanced imaging studies such as CT (computed tomography) or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans are not needed.

Risk Factors/Prevention

The best way to prevent elbow arthritis is to avoid injury to the joint. When injury does happen, it is important to recognize it right away and get treatment. Individuals involved in heavy work or sports activities should maintain muscular strength around the elbow. Always use proper conditioning and technique.

Most patients who are diagnosed with elbow osteoarthritis have a history of injury to the elbow, such as a fracture that involved the surface of the joint, or an elbow dislocation.

Sometimes there is no single injury. Work or outside activities may also lead to elbow arthritis if the patient places more demands on the joint than it can bear. For example, professional baseball pitchers place unusually high demands on their throwing elbows which can lead to failure of the stabilizing ligaments.High shear forces placed across the joint can lead to cartilage breakdown over a period of years.

Symptoms

The most common symptoms of elbow arthritis are:

• Pain
• Loss of range of motion
• Joint swelling may also occur. But this does not usually happen at first. Swelling occurs later, as the disease progresses.
• A "grating" or "locking" sensation in the elbow. The "grating" is due to loss of the normal smooth joint surface. This is caused by cartilage damage or wear. The "locking" is caused by loose pieces of cartilage or bone. These can dislodge from the joint and become trapped between the moving joint surfaces, blocking motion.
• Numbness in their ring finger and small finger can occur in later stages. Swelling in the elbow joint can put increased pressure on the ulnar nerve. See Ulnar Nerve Entrapment

Excerpted from the AAOS