When playing athletics, your elbow, wrist, and hand play important roles. From simply throwing a ball to using a bat on a field, without functioning elbows,wrists or hands, none of these athletic actions would happen. These areas of the human body, are most vulnerable to injuries!
ELBOW The elbow is made up of three bones: Humerus( upper arm ) Ulna ( inner arm ) Radius ( thumb side of the forearm ) Three ligaments: Annular Ligament - Goes around the head of the radius, is used to help keep the radius in place while rotating the forearm Ulnar Collateral Ligament - Is found on the medial side of the fibrous joint. Radial Collateral Ligament - Is found on the lateral side of the fibrous joint
The muscles used to move the elbow are the brachialis, triceps brachii, biceps brachii, anconeus, and the brachioradialis. Some of the most common injuries to the elbow and forearm include:
Contusions
Olecranon Bursitis
Ulnar Nerve Contusion
Strains
Epicondylitis
Sprains
Dislocations
Fractures
Volkmann’s Contracture
Injury to the Ulna Nerve
Injury to the Radial Nerve
Injury to the Median Nerve
SYMPTOMS OF TENNIS ELBOW:
Pain from muscles
Swelling
TREATMENT FOR TENNIS ELBOW:
RICE
Stretching
Modified Activities
Warm ups (ONLY AFTER YOU ARE HEALED COMPLETELY)
Three Levels of Volkmann’s Contracture:
Mild = Contracture of two or three fingers, no/very little loss of sensation
Moderate = All fingers are flexed, the thumb is stuck in the palm, loss of sensation in the hand
Severe = All muscles within the forearm are involved
FUNCTIONS OF ELBOW MUSCLES: Brachialis - Flexes the forearm Triceps Brachii - Extends + Adducts forearm Biceps Brachii - Flexes arm and forearm, supinates the hand Anconeus - Extends forearm Brachioradialis - Flexes forearm
WRIST AND HAND In total, both the wrist and hand consist of 27 bones! The wrist is composed of eight bones, which are known as carpals, metacarpals that form the structure, and phalanges which form the fingers. Excluding the thumb, each finger has three phalanges(the thumb only has two). The muscles used to move the wrist are the flexor carpi radialis, flexor carpi ulnaris, extensor carpi radialis brevis, extensor carpi radialis longus, extensor carpi ulnaris, palmaris longus, palmaris brevis, and the extensor digitorum communis. Muscles used to move the hand are the supinator, pronator teres, and pronator quadratus.
FRACTURES TO THE WRIST AND HAND: Boxers Fracture- a break of the FIFTH metacarpal Baseball/Mallet Finger- Tearing the finger tendon, and damaging cartilage Jersey Finger- Tearing the flexor tendon in the tip of the finger Scaphoid Fracture- Break of the scaphoid bone in the thumb Colles’ Fracture- Injury to the lower arm bone(above the wrist) Ganglion Cyst- A small hard lump formed above a tendon Dislocation- Displacement of bones Subluxation- Abnormal movement of a bone FUNCTIONS OF THE WRIST: