Chronic Pain and Stiffness
What can cause chronic elbow, wrist and ankle pain and stiffness?
Joint pain in the elbow, wrist and ankle can be caused by a variety of problems. A common cause in adults is tendinitis, an inflammation and injury to the tendons — soft tissues that attach muscle to bone.
Elbow Pain
People who play racquet sports are most likely to injure the tendons on the outside of the elbow. This condition is commonly called tennis elbow. Golfers are more likely to injure the tendons on the inside of the elbow.
Other common causes of elbow tendinitis are gardening, playing baseball, using a screwdriver, or overusing your wrist.
Young children commonly develop “nursemaid’s elbow,” usually when someone is pulling on their straightened arm. The bones are stretched apart momentarily and a ligament slips in between, where it becomes trapped when the bones try to snap back into place. Children will usually quietly refuse to use the arm, but often cry out with any attempt to bend or straighten the elbow. This condition is also called an elbow subluxation (a partial dislocation).
Other common causes of elbow pain are:
- Bursitis — inflammation of a fluid-filled cushion beneath the skin
- Arthritis — narrowing of the joint space and loss of cartilage in the elbow
- Elbow strains
- Infection of the elbow
Wrist Pain
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common cause of wrist pain. You may feel aching, burning, numbness, or tingling in your palm, wrist, thumb, or fingers. The thumb muscle can become weak, making it difficult to grasp things. Pain may extend up to your elbow.
For more on the treatment of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, click here.
Wrist pain with bruising and swelling is often a sign of an injury. The signs of a possible broken bone include misshapen joints and inability to move the wrist, hand, or a finger. Other common injuries include sprain, strain, tendinitis, and bursitis.
Arthritis is another common cause of wrist pain, swelling, and stiffness. There are many types of arthritis. Osteoarthritis occurs with age and overuse. Rheumatoid arthritis generally affects both wrists. Psoriatic arthritis accompanies psoriasis.
Infectious arthritis is a medical emergency. The signs of an infection include redness and warmth of the wrist, fever above 100F, and recent illness.
Other common causes of wrist pain include:
- Gout — this occurs when you produce too much uric acid, a waste product. It forms crystals in joints, rather than being excreted in the urine.
- Pseudogout — this is when calcium deposits in your joints (usually the wrists or knees), causing pain, redness, and swelling.
Ankle Pain
Ankle pain is often due to an ankle sprain. A sprain is an injury to ligaments, which connect bones to one another. In most cases of ankle sprain, the ankle is twisted inward, causing tiny tears in the ligaments. This makes the ankle somewhat unstable. The tearing leads to swelling and bruising, making it difficult to bear weight on the joint.
Once an ankle is sprained, the injury may take a few weeks to many months to fully heal. Often, the injured ankle remains a little weaker and less stable than the uninjured one. A proper recovery program can prevent this problem.
Other structures in the ankle that can be damaged and cause pain are tendons (which join muscles to bone), cartilage (which cushions joints), and blood vessels. Adjacent areas can cause pain to be referred to (felt in) the ankle — these include the foot, lower leg, knee, and even hip.
In addition to ankle sprains and other injuries, ankle pain can be caused by arthritis, gout, pseudogout, and infection.
