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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Had Cortisone Shot In Elbow, Unable To Extend Arm, Pain Radiating From Forearm To Wrist. Cause?

Had a cortisone shot in my elbow to treat pain associated with tennis elbow . I could not extend my arm for almost a week afterward. The pain is worse than before the shot and now the bone sticks out in the outer side of my elbow and it looks like I have a chunk of tissue missing. The area is sunken in when my arm is extended. The pain has not gone away and radiates down my forearm into my wrist . What could have caused this and what can I do now?
Tue, 26 Mar 2013
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Hi,


BASED on the information provided it seem like one of the complication like "RUPTURE TENDON" of the muscle that gets inserted at the elbow joint.


****(1) TENNIS ELBOW is an kind of swelling which occurs due to repeated used of the joint for doing harsh stroke, like playing tennis , cricket , baseball / golf. Now the basic treatment is to stop playing for a while till the swelling regresses to normal , for faster healing steroid injection are placed into the joint.

****(2) Now about the "PAIN that is extending to the FOREARM" - their is a nerve called radial nerve that passes very closed to the insertion on the muscle's tendon (tail end of muscle which thin and fibrous) that gets compressed by one or the other mean and can lead to the pain in the forearm.

****(3) NOW " MISSING CHUNK/TISSUE " - the missing chunk / tissue mostly a ruptured tendon that is pulled on to other side where its stilled attached leaving a space where it rupture.



ADVICE:

Consult ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON- talk about what happened and follow his/her directives

here is mostly they will do
1) Physical exam
2) ultrasound of the joint to see rupture/ another underlying issues
3) will give you pain reliever ,
4) may need to do minor surgery to fix tendon


Hope it helps.
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General & Family Physician,  Dr. Sunil 's  Response
Hello,
Thanks for your query.
Tennis elbow usually is successfully treated by medical means -- such as physical therapy, topical anti-inflammatory gels, topical cortisone gels, and cortisone injections. You should avoid movements that leads to pain and rest your arm, however you need to consult for physiotherapy and exercise(wrist lift, wrist flex, elbow bend etc) .
usually, 95% of people with tennis elbow will improve with these treatment plan. However, about 5% of people will not get better with conservative treatment and will need surgery to repair the injured muscle-tendon.
Revisit your doctor and re-perform necessary test and discuss about surgery if needed.

Hope it Helps.

Take Care!
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Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.
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Had Cortisone Shot In Elbow, Unable To Extend Arm, Pain Radiating From Forearm To Wrist. Cause?

Hi, BASED on the information provided it seem like one of the complication like RUPTURE TENDON of the muscle that gets inserted at the elbow joint. ****(1) TENNIS ELBOW is an kind of swelling which occurs due to repeated used of the joint for doing harsh stroke, like playing tennis , cricket , baseball / golf. Now the basic treatment is to stop playing for a while till the swelling regresses to normal , for faster healing steroid injection are placed into the joint. ****(2) Now about the PAIN that is extending to the FOREARM - their is a nerve called radial nerve that passes very closed to the insertion on the muscle s tendon (tail end of muscle which thin and fibrous) that gets compressed by one or the other mean and can lead to the pain in the forearm. ****(3) NOW MISSING CHUNK/TISSUE - the missing chunk / tissue mostly a ruptured tendon that is pulled on to other side where its stilled attached leaving a space where it rupture. ADVICE: Consult ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON- talk about what happened and follow his/her directives here is mostly they will do 1) Physical exam 2) ultrasound of the joint to see rupture/ another underlying issues 3) will give you pain reliever , 4) may need to do minor surgery to fix tendon Hope it helps.