Trucker Elbow: A Common Injury For Truck Drivers
Truckers are vulnerable to a variety of injuries associated with the profession, and elbow injuries are one of the most common. However, there are measures that may be taken to lessen the likelihood of elbow injuries, as well as the severity of the injuries if they do occur.
What Is The Pain In Your Elbow & What Is Causing This Pain?
One injury that is seen in many truck drivers is trucker elbow (also more commonly known as tennis elbow). Trucker elbow is a type of bursitis that occurs when the bursa sac in the joint gets inflamed. At the elbow joint, small tears occur in the tendons that connect your forearm muscles to your arm bone. These damaged tendons can become inflamed, causing discomfort and irritation to your everyday tasks that require you to use your elbow or forearm.
Elbows can also be harmed by excessively resting them on the window edge or arm rest, which can lead to bursitis. The biggest issue with doing so is that it can result in ulna nerve neuropathy, as well as loss of use in the fingers and hand on that arm. To avoid it, make sure that whatever you rest your elbow on is well cushioned and that you do not rest it for lengthy periods of time with the point of the elbow pressing down, if at all possible.
Symptoms Of An Elbow Injury In Truck Drivers
Symptoms of this condition include:
- stiffness of the forearm and elbow
- numb or cold hands (from poor circulation)
- pain to the touch of the outside of your elbow, and
- pain when lifting or gripping items
The elbow pain experienced by drivers can start with a small ache every now and then and progress to frequent pain over time.
Treatment For Truck Driver Elbow Pain
Trucker elbow pain can be treated in a variety of ways. In most cases, they begin conservatively and work their way up to more invasive procedures. The good news is that non-surgical treatments are effective in more than 90% of cases.
The most frequent type of treatment is a change in lifestyle. It’s simple: avoid doing the things that aggravate the tendons. At this time, elbow bracing and exercises are also recommended.
When a trucker is injured, their care should be covered by workers’ compensation. For some information and tips on filing a successful claim and getting your trucker’s elbow injury covered, read our recent blog post “What to Expect from Workers Compensation Claims” If you believe you have a case and would like a free consultation from an experienced trucking attorney, please contact us right away.
How To Prevent Elbow Pain While Driving?
- Since most of the time this pain is caused by resting the elbow against the door, window, or arm rest for extended periods of time it is also recommended that you try to limit the time your elbow spends resting on these areas or using some kind of padding to use under the arm to reduce pressure.
- It is also best to move your arm whenever possible. This helps your body to get oxygen and blood to the muscles that allow you to bend your elbow. Improving your circulation can aid in the reduction of any inflammation you may be experiencing. Daily exercises like clenching your hand (with a stress ball) and wrist extensions will help loosen up your stiff elbow. You should also stretch your arms before and after each journey.
- If possible, it also helps to schedule longer excursions so that you can stop for breaks, or take pauses every 30 minutes to allow your arms to relax. If you can’t stop and are on a straight, easy-to-navigate route with little traffic, keep one arm on the wheel while relaxing or stretching the other. You can also rest your muscles by using elbow braces or splints.
- Finally, if all else fails, surgery can be considered. There have been a number of successful surgical procedures that remove a part of the injured tendon or loosen the affected tendon’s connection.
What You Should Do About Your Elbow Pain?
If your elbow has reached the point where it is difficult for you to do your job, it is time to call Hurt Trucker Attorneys. We can help. Our team of doctors and other healthcare professionals can determine the cause of your pain. If your upper extremity injury resulted from a work-related accident or was caused by the negligence of a third party, we will help you recover the compensation you are owed. You will be treated with respect and we will do everything we can to make sure you receive the medical treatment you need.
Call, email, or contact Hurt Trucker Attorneys online to schedule a free case review for more information on how we can help you pursue injury claims and receive the compensation you deserve for your arm, shoulder, elbow, or wrist injury.