Olecrenon Bursitis (swelling and pain on the point of your elbow) can be a very painful and difficult condition. It can last for a few weeks but can completely resolve with proper medical treatment. However there are some things you can do to make this condition more manageable while you are under your doctors medical care.
In this blog we will discuss three easy and simple tips to manage Olecrenon Bursitis, that you can implement now.
Watch this video to understand what is Olecrenon Bursitis and what are the 3 signs that indicate that you maybe suffering from this condition
One of the main signs of this condition is pain and swelling in the elbow. So the first tip is to rest the elbow as much as possible. You donot need to immobilise your elbow completely (unless your doctor has advised you to do so for any reason) but avoid activities where you have to bend your elbow completely. Be mindful of this at night, especially if you tend to put your hand or arm below the head or pillow. This position anyways contributes to a poor posture while sleeping. (Watch this video HERE for how this leads to a poor posture and what you can do about it.) Ideally you should try and keep your affected arm on a pillow besides you and avoid sleeping on the affected side, if you are a side sleeper. You can place the affected arm besides you or on your tummy with elbow slightly bent if you sleep on your back.
The second tip is to avoid any aggravating repetitive activities with the affected elbow. This could be a sport such as swimming (breaststroke where you are constantly bending and extending the elbow) or hobbies such as gardening where you maybe leaning on the ground and supporting your body weight on elbow for a long time (Try to put a small cushion under your elbow for cushioning it while it is in contact with the hard cement or the mud). If you are not able to avoid these activities then try and take frequent breaks in between the activities. This will allow your elbow to destress during these breaks. Also, you can apply a cold pack on the elbow after the activity to ease the pain and inflammation.
The third tip is for after your Olecrenon Bursitis has subsided and there is no or tolerable pain. This is to strengthen the muscles of the arm and forearm. These muscles ate attached to the elbow and when you have Olecrenon Bursitis for a period of time they tend to weaken due to non-use or less use. Strengthening these muscles will also be helpful during recovery if you ever get a recurrence of this condition.
A bonus tip or advise that I would like to add here is to avoid any massage on the elbow when you have Olecrenon Busitis. Applying a pain relief gel with a lighter hand is fine but avoid a deep pressure massage on the elbow. It is perfectly fine to massage the other joint such as the shoulder, neck or wrist and hand, if needed.
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