Elbow Specialist in Chicago

The distal biceps tendon, located at the front of the upper arm, plays a key role in helping your muscles bend the elbow and rotate the arm. When these functions are taken to an extreme—such as lifting something heavy, overextending the arm or falling on an outstretched arm—the tendon can rupture or tear.

A distal triceps tear is a separation of the tendon holding the muscle to the bone at or near the elbow. A complete tear is called a rupture. Ruptures are rare in the general population, as they require substantial force. They typically occur after a sports injury or a traumatic fall.

Overview Until recently, elbow surgery required large incisions, leaving large scars and significant pain after surgery. But with the advancement of optical and orthopaedic technology, we can now perform many elbow procedures by making very small incisions and using a camera (arthroscope) to view the inside of the elbow and fix it. The advantages of […]

Your elbow is a unique joint. Through the elbow, the arm bends and the wrist rotates. These disparate functions are possible because the elbow joint works as both a hinge and ball-and-socket joint. It is the complexity of the elbow that also makes it vulnerable to injury.

With three bones that are constantly moving your arm and turning your wrist, there are many opportunities for your elbow to fracture. Increasing the likelihood is the fact that the elbow is very good at one of its prime missions: extending the arm quickly to protect the body from impact, gallantly absorbing the force.

When the tendons that join the forearm muscles become inflamed due to repetitive movements, pain and tenderness is the result. You don’t need to be a golfer or tennis player to develop this condition, although patients who suffer from tennis elbow or golfer’s elbow know these sports do increase the risk.

A third of all elbow fractures involve the head of the radius bone in the forearm. The usual cause is sudden trauma, such as extending an arm to break a fall, or any impact that twists, sprains or sends great force up the bone. This type of injury can sometimes also dislocate the elbow.

Injuries of the ulnar collateral ligament are often associated with vigorous athletic activity, especially baseball. In fact, the procedure that is highly effective at repairing damage to the ligament — Tommy John surgery — is named for a famous ball player.

Ulnar nerve entrapment, also known as cubital tunnel syndrome, is a condition involving a pinched nerve that occurs at the inner elbow, causing a very specific numbness and tingling that gradually appear in the ring fingers and little fingers, and sometimes at the inner hand.