The Elbow

Help: Examination

Several resisted movements are positive

The pain is caused by "transmitted stress"

Exceptionally, maximal isometric contractions cause pain in non-contractile tissues, by pulling on an osteo-articular structure or by squeezing a tender structure under the contracting muscle.
Cyriax called this phenomenon "transmitted stress".

It is a rare phenomenon in the elbow and is encountered only in three instances:

A fracture of the olecranon
A fracture of the radius
In an acute arthritis, resisted flexion and resisted extension of the elbow cause indirect pull on a strongly irritated synovia.