Elbow pain: spiritual meaning and emotional causes

What elbow pain is

The elbow is the hinge between the upper arm and the forearm. It bends and straightens the arm, and it also lets the forearm turn the palm up or down. Pain there usually comes from the tendons, the joint, a small fluid-filled sac, or a nerve that passes close to the surface.

Overuse is the most common cause. Tennis elbow hurts on the outer side, and golfer's elbow on the inner side, both from repeated gripping and twisting. A soft swelling on the point of the elbow is usually bursitis, after leaning on it or a knock, and it can become infected. Falls on an outstretched hand can sprain, break or dislocate the elbow. In young children, a sudden pull on the arm can slip the joint out of place. Osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and gout can make it stiff and swollen. Pressure on the ulnar nerve, the "funny bone", causes tingling in the ring and little fingers. Pain can also travel down from the neck or shoulder.

Most elbow pain settles in a few weeks with rest from the movement that provokes it, ice or a heat pack, simple painkillers, and gentle strengthening, often with a physiotherapist. Injections and surgery are kept for the cases that do not settle.

The emotional meaning of elbow pain

Spiritually, the elbows are freedom of movement. They are the supple joint that lets the arm change direction, and they carry a wish over into the gesture that makes it real. Within the wider picture of the arms and hands, the elbow is where flexibility lives.

Flexibility, and a new direction

Strong, flexible elbows let you take on large tasks. They are linked to ambition, to what you own, to work, and also to its shadow, laziness. They let you welcome a new idea and look inside yourself for the direction that truly suits you. When the elbow hurts or stiffens, the spiritual interpretation sees a lack of flexibility, and often a fear of being caught, cornered in a situation you do not like. You may be resisting a new direction without knowing it, as if the energy of the heart, on its way down the arm, stopped at the joint.

Order, routine and other people's ways

Because the elbow is so tied to action, the stiffness can show in how you see other people's actions. You may judge those who do things differently, especially when their way questions your own habits. You need order, and when your routine comes apart, the elbow reacts. In French, a day that is décousu, literally "unstitched", is one without thread or sense.

Afraid of not being up to it

Elbow pain can sit beside a fear of being incompetent in an area that matters deeply to you, and, behind it, the fear of not being able to provide for your family. The worry makes you cling to what you already have. The new and the unknown feel risky, so you stay on your positions instead of opening to a fresh idea.

Elbowing your way, and being nudged

French has several elbow expressions, and each describes a pressure. Jouer des coudes, to use your elbows, is to push your way through, and here it means feeling obliged to do things against your will. Being poussé du coude, nudged by the elbow, is feeling pushed by someone else. Serrer les coudes, to squeeze the elbows together, is to close ranks and protect yourself. You may be folding in on yourself because you distrust the world around you, even while part of you would like to let go.

Arms that can hold someone

Two healthy elbows are what let you hold someone close. A sore elbow may simply ask whom you are keeping at arm's length, and whom you would like to hug.

Left side or right side?

Many elbow problems affect the arm you use most, so mechanics come first. Spiritually, the side can still add a shade. The right side of the body carries the masculine, active principle and the left side the feminine, receptive one, and every person, man or woman, carries both. See the left and right sides of the body.

Left elbow pain

Left elbow pain is linked to the feminine principle: feeling, intuition, tenderness, receiving, and the women in your life, such as a mother, a daughter or a partner. Here the lost flexibility tends to concern your emotional life. You may be resisting a change in a relationship, or finding it hard to say "I love you" or "I am hurt". Receiving, especially love, may feel less comfortable than giving. Ask whether the elbow is keeping someone at a distance, and what you would feel if you let them come close.

The page on left elbow pain goes further.

Right elbow pain

Right elbow pain is linked to the masculine principle: action, logic, decisions, work, and the men in your life, such as a father, a partner or a boss. The elbow's themes of ambition, competence and providing come to the front. You may be forcing your way forward at work, judging colleagues whose methods unsettle yours, or carrying the fear of not being good enough to support your family. For a man this can touch rivalry and the image of strength; for a woman, a tension between working life and the roles she is expected to fill. Ask which change of direction, in your work or your plans, you keep refusing.

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A gentler way to hold it

The direction is to put more energy into what you really want, and to let your feelings show. Life's changes then become easier to accept.

• Name the direction you are resisting. Write it down, and one small step towards it.
• Loosen one habit. Let someone do a task their way, and notice what that stirs in you.
• Look at the fear of not being enough. Ask what you would try if you trusted your competence.
• Let go a little. You do not have to hold every position. Life can take care of you too.
• Stay open to love. Meet the day with suppleness rather than aggression.
• Look inside for the answers. Take new directions as challenges, knowing that what you receive can match the effort you give.