Elbows are very important joints in your body, and they are responsible for facilitating lots of movement in your arms throughout the day. With constant use or because of injury, you could experience pain in your elbow. However, joint pain is something that physical therapy can help with. Read on to learn how physical therapy can help your elbow pain.
What causes elbow pain?
To understand how physical therapy can help your elbow pain, you first need to understand what causes joint pain. Elbow pain can occur for a variety of reasons. You could acutely injure the joint itself, or discomfort could slowly develop over time without an injury to trigger it. If you have a particularly physical job or are an athlete, you’re more likely to experience joint pain or stiffness. In addition, one of the most common causes of this pain is osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is caused by age-related deterioration of the cartilage surrounding the bones of a joint.
Physical Therapy for Elbow Pain
A physical therapy program will involve an effective process to treat your elbow pain. First, your therapist will thoroughly examine your elbow and surrounding areas. Then, they’ll develop an individualized custom treatment plan to increase your flexibility and range of motion to decrease your pain. The plan can be adjusted as you go, depending on the severity of your elbow pain.
Exercises and Stretches for Elbow Pain
The bulk of most physical therapy treatment plans for elbow pain will include exercises and stretches. Your physical therapist will guide you through specific activities designed to strengthen your elbow joint as well as the surrounding muscles. You may also have some to do at home throughout the course of your treatment.
Are you experiencing elbow pain? Activity First Physical Therapy can help! Give us a call today.