While the elbow’s main movements are flexion and extension, the muscles around it work as stabilizers during side bending. For instance, if you lift an item to the side of your body, your elbow would be facing away while pressure applied would push the elbow into side bending, creating a sheering force on the joint.
Another movement that is sometimes overlooked when inspecting the shoulder is rotation. While the palm would be the end result of that movement (Supination and Pronation), the initiation of the movement begins at the base of the bones, located in the elbow.
To sum it up, before going into muscles, we have 3 bones that are located in the elbow, we have the distal part of the Humerus, and the proximal or bases of the Ulna and Radius, The Ulna and Humerus interlock to create the extension of the elbow, while the Radius and Ulna create movement in the wrist. You can read more about Wrist Pain here.
Our journey into muscular causes would begin with muscles coming from the shoulder, progressing into more localized muscles and we’d finish with a group of muscles reaching the wrist. Let’s dive in, shall we?
Biceps Brachii
The Biceps Brachii was introduced when discussing the shoulder flexors, it is a big muscle stretching from the shoulder with two heads, and going through beneath the elbow to connect to the Radius. When discussing the elbow, the Biceps Brachii is involved with flexion and supination.
When fully contracted, the Biceps Brachii will create both shoulder and elbow flexion, and will bring the palm to a supine position. If you wish to stretch the Biceps Brachii, set your arm to full extension of the elbow and shoulder, and place your palm in a prone position. This may reduce the pain you feel and allow you to continue your day with more ease.
Triceps Brachii
The Triceps (no need to refer to it as Brachii, as there is only one Triceps in the body), like the Biceps Brachii, begins at the shoulder, crosses the elbow and connects to the Ulna on the Olecranon. Opposite from the Biceps Brachii, the Triceps would extend both elbow and shoulder.
The Triceps, as it’s name suggests, consists of 3 heads, if one of these heads is a bit sorer than the rest it would apply a pull in it’s direction, a pull that may cause discomfort while extending the elbow, as the Olecranon would not insert properly into it’s the Olecranon Fossa (docking point) of the Humerus.
Brachialis & Brachioradialis
Both are assistants of the Biceps Brachii when flexing the elbow. The Brachialis begins on the Humerus and connects to the Ulna, while the Brachioradialis begins on the Humerus but connects to the Radius.
Brachialis is a simpler muscle, the connection to the Ulna is pretty close to the elbow, making it one of the localized muscles in charge of flexion only. However, the Brachioradialis connects to the Radius close to the wrist, and can be used to both supinate or pronate the palm, depending on the angle of the elbow/wrist.
Depending on the discomfort felt and the working angles, these muscles should be considered as well in some cases.
Pronator Teres
This muscle has part on all 3 of the bones of the elbow, it begins on both the Humerus and Ulna and connects to the radius. While it is not a big muscles, it’s location can cause discomfort in the elbow while moving the wrist into pronation.
Wrist Related Muscles
Looking at the movement of some of these muscles, there isn’t always a relation to the elbow, and most movements take place in the wrist. However, due to them starting on the Humerus, dysfunction with these muscles can be felt in the elbow. In this list you may find Flexor Carpi Radialis, Palmaris Longus, Flexor Carpi Ulnaris, Extensor Carpi Radialis Longus, Extensor Carpi Radialis Brevis & Extensor Carpi Ulnaris.
For this group, it is important to understand when exactly you feel the pain, as if you feel the pain while moving your wrist, those are the prime “suspects”, depending on the exact move of your wrist and the angle of the elbow.
Important Note! While it is mostly muscles that may cause pain and discomfort in the elbow, pain can also occur due to structural misplacement of the bones, it could be nervous related issues that might begin from our neck or it could be a whole other issue that should be examined.
I hope you have found the information in this article to be informative. These are just options and potential causes for pain, there could be other causes, and a proper examination is required. If you have any questions, please feel free to let me know. Stay Safe!