Massage.
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Olecranon

The point of the elbow: the hooked upper end of the ulna at the back of the joint.

BoneUlna
RegionArm

Find it

  1. Client seated or supine with the elbow bent to about 90°.
  2. Feel the point of the elbow at the back: the large bony tip is the olecranon.
  3. Straighten the elbow and feel the olecranon move up into the hollow at the back of the humerus (the olecranon fossa).
  4. Confirm by asking the client to straighten the elbow against light resistance: the triceps tendon tightens just above the olecranon.

Triceps brachii inserts on the upper surface of the olecranon. Anconeus attaches to its outer side, and part of flexor carpi ulnaris arises from its inner border.

The back of the olecranon sits just under the skin with a bursa over it, so avoid heavy pressure on the point of the elbow.

Muscles attaching or palpated here

  • Anconeus — Small triangular muscle at the back of the elbow that helps the triceps straighten the elbow and steadies the joint.
  • Extensor carpi ulnaris — Long muscle on the back of the forearm next to the ulna that extends the wrist and tilts it towards the little finger.
  • Flexor carpi ulnaris — Superficial muscle along the inner (little-finger) border of the forearm that bends the wrist and tilts it towards the little finger.
  • Flexor digitorum profundus — Deep forearm muscle lying on the ulna that bends the fingertips and is the only muscle able to flex the end joints of the four fingers.
  • Triceps brachii — Three-headed muscle on the back of the upper arm that straightens the elbow.
  • Wrist extensors — Group of muscles on the back of the forearm, mostly arising from the common extensor tendon at the lateral epicondyle, that straighten and lift the wrist and fingers.
  • Wrist flexors — Group of forearm muscles on the palm side, most arising from the common flexor tendon at the medial epicondyle, that bend the wrist and fingers.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia: Olecranon
  2. Gray's Anatomy (1918), The Ulna (Bartleby, archived)