elbow pain

If you are having elbow pain that started with no obvious accident or trauma, you may be suffering from a repetitive stress, overuse injury.  There are many factors that come into play.  Which arm is your dominant arm?  How much do you use that arm and for what kind of activities?  Do you have a family history of joint pain?  Have you recently started a new activity or increased the amount or intensity of the activity?  Have you had any other recent changes in your health?  If you do have a repetitive stress/overuse type injury, there are many things you can do to help yourself.  As a health coach and physical therapist, I like to take a multi-faceted approach to treatment.  If there are actions involving your arms that you do frequently or that involve a lot of repetitive actions (i.e. typing), it is good to take breaks, to stretch, and to change the position of your arms, hands, wrists, shoulders, back, etc.  It may also be good to massage the areas around the joints that get sore.  Using cold packs on sore joints can also help.  Put a layer of a towel or a pillow case between the pack and your skin to avoid freezing your skin.  From a dietary standpoint, look for ways to cut down on inflammatory foods in your diet.  Sugar is a big one!  Fresh fruits and veggies, water, and whole grains are good.  Make sure to pick ones that you like and agree with your body!  Those are some good places to start.