Types of Elbow Arthritis
The first step in the treatment of elbow arthritis is to determine the cause of symptoms. Unlike some joints where osteoarthritis is by far the most common type of arthritis, elbow joints are commonly affected by some other conditions. The most common types of arthritis found in the elbow joint include:
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis affects the elbow commonly. This can be painful, and often affects both elbows causing functional limitations for the patient. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis commonly have pain, swelling, and instability of the elbow joint.
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis of the elbow is relatively uncommon and mostly occurs in men with a history of significant heavy labor activity or sports participation. The most common complaint of these patients is restricted mobility, particularly with challenges fully straightening the elbow.
Post-Traumatic Arthritis
Post-traumatic arthritis of the elbow typically occurs after elbow fractures and/or elbow dislocations. When the elbow cartilage is damaged, progressive arthritis often develops.
Signs of Elbow Arthritis
The most common symptom of elbow arthritis is the pain, although restrictions in mobility and limited ability to perform upper extremity activities are also common. Patients can typically tolerate mild symptoms of arthritis, as upper extremity joint problems are better tolerated (you don’t have to walk with your arms), and most elbow activities don’t require people to have full range of motion.
Pain in the elbowLimited range-of-motion/stiffnessSwelling of the elbowGrinding sensations of the elbowInstability of the elbow joint
Treatment for Elbow Arthritis
Possible treatments of elbow arthritis range from simple to invasive. Most patients try simple treatments first and only proceed to more invasive treatments if the simple measures do not provide adequate relief.
Some of the more common treatments for elbow arthritis include:
Oral anti-inflammatory medicationsActivity modificationsIce and heat applicationAlternative treatments
If these simpler treatments are not effective, a cortisone injection is often helpful in relieving symptoms, at least temporarily.
Elbow arthroscopy is being used with increasing frequency as more surgeons are becoming comfortable with this technique. This surgery is often useful as your surgeon can remove inflamed tissue from the joint, clean out any loose cartilage, and shave bone spurs from the joint. Arthroscopic surgery is most useful for patients with moderate elbow arthritis, as more severe arthritis may not respond to a minimally invasive treatment.
If there is severe enough arthritis (inflammatory or post-traumatic) in a young person who is very active, there is a so-called “salvage” procedure called an interposition arthorplasty that may be considered. In this surgery, soft-tissue is transferred from elsewhere in the body to the elbow joint to provide a cushion between the bones. This type of procedure is favored over an implant or a total elbow replacement as complications are much more likely to develop and occur as the young person grows.
Elbow replacement surgery is a more common treatment for older patients who place less demand on their joints. Joint replacements of the elbow are not designed to withstand significant forces and can have problems if too much stress is placed on the implanted joint.
