Elbow Pain

The elbow is a stable hinge joint that allows for bending, extension, and rotation of the arm. It connects the humerus to the radius and ulna with ligaments, tendons, and muscles.

Many people have experienced some form of elbow injury in their lifetime. From minor injuries like bumping your ‘funny bone’ to more serious conditions such as tennis elbow or bursitis, the elbow can be a very sensitive joint. Usually repetitive strain injuries due to work or sports are the most common cause of elbow pain or injuries.

Traumatic injuries can occur due to a direct blow, fall or an abnormal force through the elbow joint. Often bruising and swelling accompanies the pain in injuries such as this. Fracture, dislocation, muscle strains, joint sprains and injuries to the soft tissue surrounding the joint are examples of this type of acute injury.

Repetitive strain or overuse injuries can occur when the elbow joint is repeatedly put through ranges of motion that cause dysfunction. Examples of these types of injuries include tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow, olecranon bursitis, and ulnar nerve entrapment. Inflammation of the soft tissue or nerves surrounding the joint can cause pain, weakness and altered sensation. Overuse may occur during activities such as throwing, lifting, swimming, raquet sports, golfing, typing or working. Often repetitive strain injuries are common in professionals such as carpenters, electricians, office workers, accountants, and students. Pain in the forearm and elbow is often exacerbated by flexion and extension of the wrist.

Conservative therapy of these conditions is incredibly effective. Icing and resting the joint can reduce inflammation. Sometimes splinting the elbow to prevent further aggravation of the condition is useful. Once the inflammation is controlled, mobilization, hot and cold therapy, manipulation of the joint and soft tissue therapy is often to treat the condition. It is recommended that you consult a health care provider, such as a chiropractor, to get a diagnosis of the condition and to receive treatment for the injury.

Your Brain on the Couch

Many studies show the benefits of physical exercise on brain development and remodeling. Now, recent studies are showing that inactivity can also remodel the brain. This study conducted in rats, found that a sedentary lifestyle changes the shape of neurons, which significantly affect the brain and the heart.

Within the last two decades, neurological studies have established that the brain retains plasticity (the ability to be reshaped) throughout life. These studies have shown that exercise appears to be particularly effective at remodeling the brain.

The study recently published in The Journal of Comparative Neurology, tested sedentary versus exercise in rats over the period of three months. They measured the shape of neurons within the sympathetic nervous system which is responsible for controlling our fight or flight response. Your sympathetic nervous system directs blood vessels to adapt to changes in environment quickly, and if it is overactive, it can contribute to high blood pressure and cardiovascular damage.

The study showed that the rats that exercised had a well functioning sympathetic nervous system, and the neurons were intact. Contrary to these results, the rats that were inactive had overactive neuron growth, which over-stimulated their sympathetic nervous system. This led to increases in blood pressure and the potential development of heart disease.

This confirms that inactivity can increase the risk of heart disease at a cellular level. Interestingly enough, the results also confirm that inactivity has a negative impact on neuronal development, just as exercise has a positive effect.

Inactivity has a negative impact on both neurological and cardiovascular function, which in turn puts stress on the brain and the heart. The evidence shows us that sedentary behaviour can have short term and potentially long term effects on our health.