Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-14T18:36:35.504Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 3 - Examination of the Elbow

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 April 2022

By
Simon Booker ,
David Stanley  and
Amjid Ali
Edited by
Fazal Ali  and
Nick Harris
Fazal Ali
Affiliation:
Chesterfield Royal Hospital
Nick Harris
Affiliation:
Spire Hospital, Leeds
Get access

Summary

Examination of the elbow starts with standing the patient and observing the carrying angle and looking for deformity and scars. The process flows best when movements are performed next, followed by palpation. If there is tenderness over the epicondyles, then provocation tests are performed, on the lateral side for tennis elbow and on the medial side for golfer’s elbow. Lastly, instability tests are performed. The pivot shift test is explained in more detail later in this chapter.

Keywords

elbowimpingementinstabilitycarrying angletennis elbowcollateral ligament
Type
Chapter
Information
Orthopaedic Examination Techniques
A Practical Guide
 , pp. 35 - 49
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Stanley, D. Prevalence and aetiology of symptomatic elbow osteoarthritis. J Shoulder Elbow Surg 1994;3:386–389.Google Scholar
Andrews, JR, Whiteside, JA. Common elbow problems in the athlete. J Orthop Sports Physiother 1993;6:289–295.Google Scholar
Lee, ML, Rosenwasser, MP. Chronic elbow instability. Orthop Clin North Am 1999;30(1):81–89.Google Scholar
Robinson, PM, Griffiths, E, Watts, AC. Simple elbow dislocation. Shoulder Elbow 2017;9(3):195–204.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morrey, BF, Chow, EY. Passive motion of the elbow joint. J Bone Joint Surg Am 1976;58A:501–508.Google Scholar
Major, HP. Lawn tennis elbow. BMJ 1883;ii:557.Google Scholar
Mardam-Bey, T, Ger, E. Congenital radial head dislocation. J Hand Surg 1979;4:316–320.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thompson, H, Garcia, A. Myositis ossificans: aftermath of elbow injuries. Clin Orthop 1967;50:129–134.Google Scholar
Baker, BE, Bierwagen, D. Rupture of the distal tendon of biceps brachii. J Bone Joint Surg Am 1985;67A:414–417.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O’Driscoll, SW, Goncalves, LB, Dietz, P. The hook test for distal biceps avulsion. Am J Sports Med 35 2007;35(11):1865–1869.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hartz, CR, Linscheid, RL, Gramse, RR, Daube, JR. The pronator teres syndrome: compressive neuropathy of the median nerve. J Bone Joint Surg Am 1981;63A:885–890.Google Scholar
Spinner, M, Kaplan, EP. The relationship of the ulnar nerve to the medial intermuscular septum in the arm and its clinical significance. Hand 1976;8:239–242.Google Scholar
Bennett, BS. Triceps tendon rupture. J Bone Joint Surg Am 1962; 44A:741–744.Google Scholar
Nirschl, RP. Elbow tendinosis/ tennis elbow. Clin Sports Med 1992;4:851–870.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Regan, WD, Korinek, SL, Morrey, BF, An, KN. Biomechanical study of ligaments about the elbow joint. Clin Orthop 1991;271:271.Google Scholar
Jobe, F, Elattrache, N. Reconstruction of the MCL. In Morrey, BF (ed), Master Techniques: The Elbow. Philadelphia: Raven Press, 1994.Google Scholar
O’Driscoll, SW, Bell, DF, Morrey, BF. Postero-lateral rotatory instability of the elbow. J Bone Joint Surg Am 1991;73A:440–446.Google Scholar
Regan, WD, Morrey, BF. Physical examination of the elbow. In Morrey, BF (ed), The Elbow and Its Disorders, 3rd ed. Philadelphia: WB Saunders, 2000.Google Scholar
Arvind, CH, Hargreaves, DG. Tabletop relocation test: a new clinical test for posterolateral rotatory instability of the elbow. J Shoulder Elbow Surg 2006;15:707–708.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yamamoto, I, Ishii, S, Usui, M, Ogino, T, Kaneda, K. Cubitus varus deformity following supracondylar fracture of the humerus: a method for measuring rotational deformity. Clin Orthop 1985;201:179–185.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McAdams, TR, Masters, GW, Srivastava, S. The effect of arthroscopic sectioning of the lateral ligament complex of the elbow on posterolateral rotatory stability. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2005;14(3):298–301.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chan, K, Athwal, GS. Varus posteromedial rotatory instability. In Tashjian, RZ (ed), The Unstable Elbow. Cham: Springer, 2017.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×