As funny and goofy as Popeye’s elbow looks, one has to wonder if this bizarre condition always comes with pain.
Though Popeye’s elbow (olecranon bursitis) is associated with pain, it can also be painless — as in completely.
I know this because my mother was diagnosed with Popeye’s elbow. There was a superball-sized “bump” at the joint.
It was soft (because this condition is an inflamed sac that’s filled with fluid of the bursa).
And as much as it looked like the classic Popeye’s elbow, it was 100 percent free of pain.
It wasn’t even tender or sore. She noticed it only when she just happened to look there shortly after awakening in the morning.
It didn’t even hurt when she was sitting at a table leaning on it (which was the obvious cause).
My mother’s Popeye’s elbow didn’t hurt at all when she or I touched the affected area.
Nor was there any pain when she flexed or extended the joint, carried groceries or worked in the kitchen.
The physician’s assistant told her to just let time dwindle down the inflammation. It wasn’t even red.
The PA told her it may take days, a few weeks or even a few months for it to go down, but in the meantime, she could put a band around it.
So yes, it is possible for olecranon bursitis to come without any pain.
If you see someone with Popeye’s elbow…don’t assume that it hurts just because it looks so strange.
“Popeye’s arm is not always painful,” says Dr. Dave Candy, a board certified specialist in orthopedic physical therapy.
“ A bursa is just a fluid-filled sac, and if the bursa ruptures, the fluid leaks out.
“Unless the fluid gets infected though, the swelling itself is not painful.”
Dr. Dave Candy, PT, DPT, is a specialist in orthopedic physical therapy and owner of 
