Your forearms extend from your elbows to your wrists. At each joint above and below the forearm, there are tendons that help these joints move and keep your bones and muscles functioning. When you have forearm tendinitis, you experience inflammation in the tendons that connect your elbow to your forearm and wrist. If you think you have forearm tendinitis, it's a good idea to see a doctor for diagnosis and treatment. However, you can start assessing forearm tendinitis as soon as you feel pain or discomfort in the forearm.
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Method 1 of 3: Checking Symptoms
Step 1. Check for symptoms of forearm tendinitis
You can feel pain from tendinitis in your forearm around the tendon that connects the bones near your elbow. Some other names for forearm tendinitis are tennis elbow and golfer's elbow. You may have forearm tendinitis if you have any of the following symptoms:
- Mild swelling in the area
- Your tendons are sensitive to pain when pressed or used
- Pain that is often referred to as dull ache (mild pain)
- Pain that occurs more often when the injured arm is moved
Step 2. Check if you have golfer's elbow
The medical term for golfer's elbow is medial epicondylitis. The pain associated with golfer's elbow is inside the elbow due to inflammation of the flexor muscles (the muscles that allow the elbow to bend). The risk of developing this condition increases if these tendons bear too much weight due to repetitive movements. Here are the symptoms of golfer's elbow:
- The pain starts from the elbow and spreads to the forearm.
- Stiffness in the arms
- Increased pain when bending and stretching the wrist
- Pain that is exacerbated by certain conditions, such as opening a jar and shaking hands
Step 3. Check that you are working your tennis elbow
Tennis elbow, or lateral epicondylitis, is on the outside of the elbow. Pain begins with repetitive movements involving the extensor muscles (the muscles that straighten the elbow). Tennis elbow symptoms often start with mild discomfort and then progress to severe pain each month. Symptoms of tennis elbow include:
- Pain or burning on the outside of the elbow and under the forearm
- Weakening of grip
- Symptoms get worse when the related muscles are overused, for example playing a game of racket, turning a wrench, or shaking hands.
Method 2 of 3: Consider the Causes of Forearm Tendinitis
Step 1. Consider whether symptoms occur in both arms
In all types of forearm tendinitis, the injury usually occurs in the dominant arm. However, injuries can also occur in both arms. Tendinitis will occur in tendons that withstand consistently large forces.
Tendinitis can also occur in the tendons that control extension or flexion (straightening or bending) of the arm, but rarely occurs in both at the same time. Repetition of movements that resist large forces, either in extension or flexion of the arm, will cause tendinitis
Step 2. Identify the repetitive motion that results in a tennis elbow injury
Tennis elbow can develop if you resist the force against an object when the elbow is straightened. Although tennis elbow is often the result of playing tennis, the use of a light racket and a two-handed backhand will reduce the risk of developing this injury. Some movements that also cause tennis elbow include:
- Lifting heavy or using heavy equipment repeatedly
- Work that involves a lot of squeezing and twisting, or precise movements.
- New or unusual movements, such as gardening for the first time, picking up a newborn, or packing and moving house.
Step 3. Consider activities that contribute to golfer's elbow
Although the word golf is in the name of the condition, other sports that involve grasping and/or throwing may also be the culprit, such as baseball, American football, archery, or javelin throwing. Other types of movement that can cause golfer's elbow include:
- Jobs that involve repetitive movements of the elbow, for example using a computer, cutting or painting
- Use of vibrating tools
- Using a racket that is too small or heavy for your ability or hitting a hard topspin
- Doing other repetitive activities for an hour or more each day, such as heavy lifting, cooking, hammering, mowing the grass, or chopping wood.
Method 3 of 3: Treating Forearm Tendinitis
Step 1. Treat your injury immediately
Although not life-threatening, forearm tendinitis can limit movement and activity for weeks due to pain and discomfort. Without treatment, tendinitis will also increase the risk of tendon tears. This condition is much more serious which can only be cured with surgery.
- If tendinitis persists for several months, you could develop tendinosis, which has an adverse effect on the tendons and causes the growth of new abnormal blood vessels.
- Long-term complications of tennis elbow can lead to recurrence of the injury, tendon tears, and failure to heal with surgical or non-surgical methods due to entrapment of the nerves in the forearm.
- Long-term complications of chronic golfer's elbow can cause chronic pain, limitation of movement, and fixed contracture (bending) of the elbow.
Step 2. Schedule an appointment with the doctor
If you think you have tendinitis, make an appointment with your doctor to be evaluated and treated. Early diagnosis and treatment will make it easier for your injury to heal.
- To diagnose forearm tendinitis, your doctor will closely monitor your medical history and perform a full physical exam.
- Your doctor may suggest an X-ray if you were injured before the pain started.
Step 3. Discuss your options with your doctor
Based on the diagnosis, the doctor will suggest treatments to reduce pain and improve arm movement. Make sure you follow your doctor's instructions for caring for your arm and ask any questions you have about your treatment.
- Your doctor may prescribe anti-inflammatory drugs to help reduce inflammation in the forearm, reduce pain, and improve arm function.
- You may need to wear a brace to support the injured area and relieve pressure on the muscles and tendons. The brace can disable arm movement or only support the arm, depending on the severity of the injury
- Your doctor may inject corticosteroids around the tendon to relieve inflammation and pain. However, if the condition persists for more than 3 months, these injections will weaken the tendon and increase the risk of tearing the tendon.
Step 4. Ask your doctor about plasma therapy
Plasma-rich platelet therapy treatment involves taking your blood, rotating it to separate platelets, and injecting those platelets in the tendon area.
Although this treatment is still being researched, its benefits are already being felt in the treatment of some chronic tendon conditions. Talk to your doctor to determine if this option is right for you
Step 5. Consider physical therapy
Your doctor may suggest physical therapy in addition to your other tendinitis treatments. In physical therapy, you will learn how to perform forearm stretches designed to reduce tension in your muscles. This is important because it is useful in microtearing associated with tendonitis.
- Work and activities that involve a lot of gripping motion, force on the extensor or flexor muscles, or repetitive hand or wrist movements can increase muscle tension, leading to tendinitis.
- Your physical therapist may recommend a deep friction massage to trigger the release of natural stimulants that help the tendons heal. This technique is safe, gentle, and easy to learn from your therapist.
Step 6. Monitor for severe symptoms
In some cases, tendinitis requires emergency treatment. Learn the symptoms of severe tendinitis so you know when help is needed. Seek emergency help if:
- You have a fever and your elbow is hot and inflamed
- Elbows can't be bent
- The shape of the elbow looks unnatural.
- You feel that a bone is cracked or broken as a result of certain injuries to the area
Step 7. Support injury recovery with home methods
While you'll need to see a doctor for a diagnosis and treatment, there are some home remedies that can help relieve minor pain from tendinitis. Ask your doctor if you can use these treatments and medications. Minor pain can be relieved with the following remedies:
- Resting inflamed joints and stopping activities that trigger inflammation.
- Give an ice pack with an ice pack wrapped in a towel 4 times a day for 10 minutes at a time
- Use commercial anti-inflammatory drugs, eg naproxen or ibuprofen
