Elbow osteoarthritis
What is elbow osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthrosis or osteoarthrosis is a degenerative disease that causes the loss of the cartilage covering the joint surfaces, so that the joint space disappears. Among the different types of osteoarthritis, osteoarthritis of the elbow is rare.
What are the symptoms?
For a long time, degenerative osteoarthritis has no symptoms and its clinical presentation can be variable. When symptoms do appear, they are usually pain when performing some kind of action and reduced range of motion. Other characteristic symptoms are blockage of the elbow joint by loose cartilage or bone fragments, swelling as the disease progresses, functional impotence for elbow flexion and extension, and tingling caused by pressure on the ulnar nerve as a result of inflammation.
Causes of elbow osteoarthritis or why it occurs
In most cases it is due to excessive exercise, previous trauma, or injuries that involve a progressive deterioration of the joint and the corresponding loss of cartilage. This last part acts as a soft “shock absorber” that covers the joints. This wear and tear causes changes in the structure of the elbow.
Can it be prevented?
The only way to prevent osteoarthritis of the elbow is to avoid actions or movements that may involve overexertion of the elbow. In addition, at the moment of manifesting a pain it is always advisable to stabilize it and not to continue performing the movement or action that causes it.
What does the treatment consist of?
In the initial phase of the disease, the treatment of osteoarthritis seeks to alleviate the symptoms by means of rest and the administration of drugs for the pain, but if it fails, a surgical intervention can be chosen. Within this area there are: arthrolysis, arthroplasty and arthroscopy. In arthrolysis, joint adhesions are released; during arthroplasty, recommended for severe cases of joint deterioration, the defect is reconstructed with a prosthesis; in arthroscopy, small bodies that may cause degeneration are removed.