Elbow Pain Differential Diagnoses

Differential Diagnoses

Lateral Elbow Pain

• Lateral Elbow Tendinopathy
• Referred pain (Cervical spine, Upper thoracic spine, Myofascial)
• Synovitis of the radiohumeral joint
• Radiohumeral bursitis
• Radial Head Fractures
• Radial Head Dislocation
• Capitellar Osteochondritis Dissecans (Capitellum, Radius in adolescents)
• Capitellar Osteochondrosis
• Lateral Condyle Fracture
• Capitellum Fracture
• Lateral Collateral Ligament Complex Injury
• Radial Head Subluxation (Nursemaid Elbow)
• Radiocapitellar Osteoarthrosis
• Bone Neoplasm
• Soft Tissue Neoplasm
• Posterolateral Rotary Instability
• Posterior Interosseous Nerve Entrapment or Radial Neuropathy at the Spiral Groove
• Posterolateral Plica Syndrome

Medial Elbow Pain

• Medial Elbow Tendinopathy
• Medial collateral ligament injury (acute and chronic)
• Ulnar neuritis
• Avulsion fracture of the medial epicondyle (children and adolescents)
• Apophysitis (children and adolescents)
• Referred pain (Cervical Radicular Pain, somatic referred myofascial pain)
• Myofascial pain
• Ulnar Neuropathy
• Little Leaguer's Elbow
• Triceps Tendinopathy and rupture
• Fractures (Olecranon Fracture, Pediatric Medial Epicondyle Avulsion, Coronoid Process Fracture, Medial Condyle Fracture)
• Medial epitrochlear lymphadenopathy (e.g. from cat-scratch disease)
• Anconeus Epitrochlearis
• Cyst, Mass, Foreign Body

Posterior Elbow Pain

• Olecranon bursitis
• Triceps Tendinopathy
• Posterior impingement
• Gout

Anterior Elbow Pain

• Biceps tendinopathy or rupture

Generalised

• Osteoarthritis
• If locking consider chondromalacia, osteochondritis, loose bodies

Differentiating Factors

Coombes et al summarised the important differentiating features of lateral elbow tendinopathy, shown below