[sooieda]

How long will it take to heal?? I had this for 2 weeks now and pain is gone but my arm has no strength? Its like my arm is stiff and especially no strength... very weak.. anyway how long will it take?? To fully heall?

How long for most people?

And its not sprained, its strained. Do you think I have strained elbow?? Or is this a sign of arthiritis? I don't know, it might just be a sPrain but I don't know.

Thanks guyz.

[J_9]

Okay, now how do you know it is strained and not sprained? Did a doctor tell you this?

do u think I have strained elbow??

Without a complete history of your injury and a physical exam of your elbow, we cannot answer that question.

If it is a strain will take a few weeks to heal. If it is a sprain, well, those are actually worse then breaks and can take several months to completely heal.

You should have it checked by your doctor for a proper diagnosis.

[sooieda]

My doc said he THINKS it's a strained elbow

[Nosnosna]

The symptoms you describe are typical of both strains and sprains. Strains are damage to the muscle (which heals fairly quickly... a few days for a minor strain, up to a few weeks for a serious one). Sprains are damage to the ligaments, which take a long time to heal (two to three weeks for a minor one, going up to several months and the possibility of surgery for the really bad ones... your doctor would have known if it had been that bad, though).

I'm no doctor, but I've hurt myself enough times to know that if, after a soft-tissue injury the pain goes away, but the loss of strength associated with it doesn't, it's time to go back to the doctor. And if your doctor can't tell you what's wrong with it, you should seriously consider finding a new one.

Regardless of which it is, you need to keep it away from any activity until it heals, unless otherwise directed by your doctor.

Edit: If you have access to one, a sports medicine specialist would be an excellent choice for a doctor to see... these injuries are probably the most common they deal with.

[sooieda]

Nosnosna, so your saying that my arm strength won't come back??
My doctor said don't worry about it but I don't think he cares that much. Pain is all gone though..
Its just stiff and weak.

[Nosnosna]

I can't say what it is. I'm saying that loss of strength that persists may be a sign of a more problem: A tear, rather than a pull. I've had muscle tears that felt no worse than a pull, but ended up being a problem for a long time. It may be nothing beyond basic stiffness that will work itself out, but that's not the kind of thing I'd want to take a chance on.

[sooieda]

How long?

[Nosnosna]

Years. I had a tear in my knee twelve years ago that still gives me problems.

[sooieda]

!! omg~~!! F no then is this worse than tennis elbow? what can I do about this..? My doc said "dont worry about it"

[Nosnosna]

Listen

I'm not saying it IS that bad.

I'm not even saying it's PROBABLY that bad.

All I'm saying is that it COULD BE that bad.

You need to talk to your doctor. Let him know that the pain is gone, but that you're still having stiffness and loss of strength. He'll let you know what to do from there.

Edit: Also bear in mind that the reason I've had so much trouble with mine is because I was an idiot and didn't let it heal right. Most of the time, it's not a problem, but certain things I can do now will make it excruciatingly painful and sore for days.

[sooieda]

I don't even know I have strained elbow, but my doc said he thinks I do. FRIG!! Since I got my arm strained my arm just didn't have any strength. But I never felt any pain excruicitingly. Its just so stiff.

I'm really stressed about this because I play basketball and I can't shoot very well anymore.