elbow catches

[old goat]

For several month my elbow has had a somewhat painful catch in it. I noticed it putting skis over my shoulder. Most predictable is when I start to pronate the forearm after supinating it (using a can opener). No pain except with the catch, no swelling. I'm able to pronate easily past the catch, it just hurts. No locking. Full ROM. No symptoms with straight flexion and extension. Any orthopods that can make an internet diagnosis? If so does it need treatment?

[Tye 1on]

just get an electric can opener and call it good?

[old goat]

bad for global warming. also I get funny looks when I make my wife carry my skis and hers both.

[Orthoski]

Old Goat - really depends on where the pain is and your physical exam. Thus, the laundry list is going to include anything from within the joint itself (where the head of the radius bone meets the arm bone - known as the radiocapitellar joint) to something outside the joint such as golfer's elbow ("medial epicondylitis" - one of the muscles that pronates the forearm originates from the bony prominence on the inside of the elbow.

Probably best idea is to just get seen and examined.

[old goat]

Old Goat - really depends on where the pain is and your physical exam. Thus, the laundry list is going to include anything from within the joint itself (where the head of the radius bone meets the arm bone - known as the radiocapitellar joint) to something outside the joint such as golfer's elbow ("medial epicondylitis" - one of the muscles that pronates the forearm originates from the bony prominence on the inside of the elbow.

Probably best idea is to just get seen and examined.

Slight tenderness over the lateral epicondyle with the elbow extended but not flexed. I think I can feel the catching in the radiocapitellar joint. Pain with the catch hard to localize and seems to be getting better--that is less or no pain even when I feel the catch. Yeah I know the only way to be sure is to see my orthopod but I hate to bug him with something so small, and he's just going to tell me I'm getting old and deal with it (he's a friend and professional colleague--he doesn't treat his "real" patients like that and he takes good care of us when we really need it.)

[Orthoski]

Getting better is always a good sign - sounds like having your wife carry your skis is a good treatment regimen. What about with resisted wrist extension? Pain over the lateral epicondyle is very frequently lateral epicondylitis (aka, tennis elbow). You can feel that the fleshy group of muscles on the outside (thumb-side) of your forearm become more taut with elbow extension.

[Meadow Skipper]

Physicians make the worst patients.

[XXX-er]

This was a big season of touring and I was getting a sore elbow (inside boney part) while skinning on the up so I put the BD flicklocks down all the way to about 100cms and gripped the top of the pole like an old man (not far off) with a couple of canes and it definatley felt better not having to lift the arm as high but also the wrist is rotated 90 degrees to the inside

[old goat]

Getting better is always a good sign - sounds like having your wife carry your skis is a good treatment regimen. What about with resisted wrist extension? Pain over the lateral epicondyle is very frequently lateral epicondylitis (aka, tennis elbow). You can feel that the fleshy group of muscles on the outside (thumb-side) of your forearm become more taut with elbow extension.

no pain with resisted wrist extension. I've had lateral epicondylitis a few times--both elbows one particularly heavy winter from shoveling--even had to shovel the roof. Eventually the snow on either side of the walk was so high most of the snow I threw up there came back on my head. This is different. And actually skiing--no elbow pain even with uphill poling.
Nurses are worse patients than doctors. They buy in to all the health fads and herbal crap. They don't trust doctors (why would that be?) I'm married to a nurse. (She told me she was feeling tired--I blew her off, turns out she had hepatitis a from eating oysters in new orleans.) Maybe if I go on a gluten free diet my elbow will get better.