A surprising amount of life and work rests not just on our shoulders, but also on our elbows. And elbow pain affects around 3% of the population globally — arising from arthritis, or injuries associated with certain manual jobs, sports, or the gym.
Take tennis elbow and golfer's elbow, for example: common tendon-related conditions affecting the outer and inner sides of the joint and causing pain and stiffness, particularly during twisting movements. Their name is deceiving, though — few people who are diagnosed with them actually play either sport, and the cause is often related to other repetitive actions that stress the elbows over time.
As a primary care physician, I've been struck by the number of younger patients I see with persistent or disruptive elbow pain — who have no signs of arthritis, and who haven't even picked up a racket, club, or dumbbell. Instead, the problem is something more familiar and subtle: the recurrent strains that come with sitting and working at a desk each day.
Sitting in front of a computer can cause elbow strain
A typical day at the office, sitting before a computer, is actually full of strains. Continual clicking and scrolling, switching position to type an email, before moving back to the mouse again, and then repeating, ad nauseam, all day long. If coupled with a poorly set-up workstation that fails to support the elbows — or your back, shoulders, or wrists — the risk is increased. And could lead to a more persistent problem further down the line.
Recognizing desk work as a cause of troublesome elbow pain can help us take evasive action — and might prevent it from occurring in the first place.
We tend to associate the elbows with flexing our biceps, but on either side of the joint are other important muscles that control our hands. They fire into action at the desk, balancing our wrists, and pulling on our fingers like puppet strings — to make us tap the keyboard, or click at the mouse.
It's estimated that an average office day involves at least 5,000 mouse clicks — a figure that may triple or even quadruple on longer days, or for those working in design or coding. Factor in all those drags-and-drops, plus the scrolling, typing, gripping, and even hovering over the mouse and keys, and you're talking thousands more tiny repetitive strains in just a single day.
Over weeks, months, and years of the same thing, this can lead to considerable wear and tear on muscles and tendons, resulting in inflammation and gradually worsening elbow pain. In some cases, it can become chronic and difficult to treat.
Many office workers also overlook their workstation setup. The desk and chair should be at the same height as the computer and provide an appropriate distance between the body and the mouse. Be wary of prolonged rest on hard surfaces, which can compress the nerves around your elbow and down your forearm — triggering numbness or "pins and needles". Repeated rubbing can also cause soft tissue irritation and swelling — another reason to heed your parents when they told you to keep those elbows off the table!
How to avoid elbow pain
An upright posture, with elbows bent to around 90 degrees and held close to the body, is optimal. The mouse should be within easy reach, with forearms parallel to the desk. Armrests can help support the elbows, but shouldn't lift or brace them in an unnatural position.
We also know that the buck doesn't stop at the elbow — wrist placement is essential as well. Extending the wrists too far backward to work more easily is one particular bad habit, keeping the forearm muscles constantly active and liable to strain. Adopting a more neutral position helps prevent excessive tension. An ergonomic mouse or keyboard can help maintain this safer posture, whilst a desktop wrist support can provide good cushioning underneath.
And it's not just position that matters. In working toward important deadlines, it's easy to skip breaks, forgetting how important it is to give our muscles adequate rest. We can also underestimate how forcefully we type or how hard we grip the mouse, again generating unnecessary strain. Try to relax and take small, regular breaks.
Many are guilty of pushing through pain, delaying a trip to the doctor until problems become lengthy, or indeed unbearable, which is never a good idea. It's entirely reasonable at the first sign of discomfort in either elbow to try some of these workplace adjustments and some simple painkillers. But it's important to seek medical advice if the pain is worsening, has persisted for more than 3-4 weeks, follows an injury, or is accompanied by other joint changes, such as redness, swelling, or heat.
So, the next time you take a seat at your desk, take just a couple of minutes to really make sure it's set up to your advantage. It may be that you don't yet suffer from elbow pain — but it might be waiting in the wings for you, if you carry on with the same bad habits.
