Arm pain above elbow

We use our arms countless times during every single day. We complete numerous tasks with these parts of our body and they are more or less crucial for our existence. Thus, whenever we suffer from conditions like arm pain above the elbow, we face problems and our daily life gets affected. This pain can take place due to many reasons. Moreover, the pain itself may be different, affecting both arm or just a single one, being severely painful or just causing mild discomfort etc. If you desire to find out more about this condition, read the lines below.

What Causes Pain above Elbow?

Sometimes, this pain may be triggered by a bone fracture stemming from an incident you have endured or an injury you have sustained. The troublesome area may get inflamed in this situation, potentially leading to bleeding or nerve damage, causing paralysis.

If the tendons get inflamed, this condition is named tendinitis, manifesting through swelling of these parts of our body. Usually, tendinitis strikes due to excessive physical efforts invested in exercising or lifting heavy objects. Apart from the pain, tendinitis may manifest through tenderness of the injured area too.

Other Causes of Pain above Elbow

The same way the tendons get affected by overuse, muscles get overstretched and the fibers inside of them get torn, leading to pain in the area above the elbow. Naturally, this condition takes place due to excessive stress placed on the muscles through repetitive actions. Thus, most common causes of muscle injury come from sports like tennis, swimming, ball throwing etc. The intensity of the overuse dictates the intensity of the damage. The pain is usually accompanied by swelling, tenderness and stiffening of the affected muscles.

Physical Injury

In some cases, where we damage our joints in the neck or shoulder area, they press on the surrounding nerves, leading to an increase in the injury and the blockage of the nerve functions in the area. Then, muscles lose their control over the arm, hand or wrist and trigger pain, as well as swelling. Logically, this kind of damage often takes place due to physical injury.

Heartburn

Believe it or not, heartburn can lead to pain in the upper area of your arm, getting worse when you bend or try to get in a horizontal position. Finally, some other causes of pain above the elbow can be triggering your symptoms. Heart attack and angina commonly lead to chest pain and left arm pain, predominantly affecting men. Arthritis belongs to the list of causes too.

Treatment and Medical Assistance

Regardless of the cause behind your pain above the elbow, you are advised to seek medical assistance and have the underlying cause diagnosed and properly treated. Before this is possible, cold compresses can relieve you from pain and swelling and resting can be quite beneficial making this condition less severe.