Thank you for joining me again this evening for our nightly podcasts. I perform these podcasts in the hopes that you will be able to education yourself on the topics discussed so you can make better informed medical decisions regarding your health in the future. I am doctor Harrison Campbell of Restoration Health a premier sugar land chiropractors office. Previously we discussed the knee and the bones and ligaments associated with the joint. Tonight, we will be discussing the elbow in great detail.
The elbow in many ways is similar to the knee we discussed previously. In other ways it is very different. To start our discussion we will first look at the bony anatomy then move to the ligaments and finish with the muscles if we have time. As sugar land chiropractors know there are three bones which conjoin to make the elbow which mimic the three bones which came together for the knee. These three bones are the humerus, the ulna, and the radius.
The humerus is the bone of the upper arm and runs from the shoulder to the elbow. The ulna is the main hinge portion of the elbow and runs from the elbow to the wrist. And finally, the radius is the second bone in the forearm which runs from the elbow to the wrist. The radius is the bone which allows for the rotational aspect around the elbow. Now sugar land chiropractors have different terms for the rotation at the elbow. We call is pronation and supination. Pronation is the motion where the palm side of the hand is rotated down or more accurately where we can see the back side of the hand. Supination is where the pal is rotated up to where we can visually see the palm. A good way to remember this is cupped hands can hold soup. It is silly, but it is accurate. Supination allows you to create a bowl with your hands and soup is generally served in a bowl. Little tricks like this to remember make sure you can recall information when needed easier.
Now back to the bones. As stated, there is the humerus in the upper arm and both the ulna and radius in the forearm or lower arm. The humerus and the ulna articulate together to create hinge joint similar to the hinge join of the knee. The ulna has the bony protrusion which people call the point of the elbow as this is called the olecranon. As sugar land chiropractors know this olecranon creates an anchor point for muscles to extend the elbow by providing leverage. Now those of you who know levers are saying this type of lever is a very poor way to provide leverage. You are correct, but anatomically this provides a lever no matter how inefficient, for the body to use.
The radius articulates with the ulna on the lateral side and is connected via a ring like ligament called the annular ligament. This ligament configuration allows the radius to have the rotation movement we associate at our hands, the pronation and supination. It is this ligament which is associated with a dislocation of the radius at the elbow in young children. The head of the radius slips out from the annular ligament and creates a great deal of pain in the child and they guard the elbow. As sugar land chiropractors know there is a series of movements to reduce the dislocation. There are two different techniques, either the hyperpronation technique and the elbow supination and flexion technique.
Since we crossed into the ligament territory lets continue. As with the collateral ligaments in the knee there are two collateral ligaments in the elbow. They are named similar as well. There is the medical collateral ligament and the lateral collateral ligament. As sugar land chiropractors know the medical collateral ligament run from the inside of the humerus to the ulna in the side closest to the body. For the lateral collateral ligament, it runs from the lateral or outside of the humerus to the radius.
Just like with the knee these collateral ligaments in the elbow prevent valgus and varus forces or stresses on the body. To refresh a valgus force wants to push the lower aspect of the joint away from the body while a varus force want to push the lower aspect of the joint towards the body. For the elbow a valgus force is pushing the forearm away from the body while a varus force is pushing towards the body. To this effect the medial collateral ligament protects from valgus forces and the lateral collateral ligament protects from varus forces.
Now also similar to the tibia and fibula there is a tough fiberous material running between these to bones sugar land chiropractors call the interosseous membrane for the ulna and radius. Now this is not technically a ligament of the elbow at is runs down the length of the ulna and radius anchoring them together. For the knee this is what is injured in high ankle sprains. There is not usually a an injury similar to that in the elbow or forearm but it can occur in certain situations.
Unfortunately we do not have enough time to do justice for the muscles in the elbow and accurately describe them. We will briefly review them. The flexors for the elbow are located on the anterior or front side of the humerus. Most people associate the bicep with flexion. It does flexion for the elbow but it also is the primary supination for the elbow. Now this would place the extensors on the posterior or back side of the humerus, namely the tricep.
Thank you for joining me again this evening for another great podcast. I hope you enjoyed the discussion on the elbow and the anatomy of this joint. As always should you or someone you know require a sugar land chiropractors services or simply have more questions on what was discussed please call Restoration Health today. We would love to schedule you an appointment and get you on the path to better health today. Thank you once again for joining us. Have a good night.