Lateral and Medial Epicondylitis
Lateral Epicondylitis (Tennis elbow) and Medial Epicondylitis (Golfer’s elbow) are injuries that result from acute trauma to the elbow muscles, usually caused by repetitive activities such as golf, racquet, throwing, computer use, and driving. In tennis elbow, pain and tenderness are felt through the lateral elbow and upper forearm. In golfer’s elbow, inflammation of the forearm muscles causes elbow pain.
General treatment recommendations are rest, icing after exercise, and avoidance of movements like lifting, gripping, pronation, and supination. Tendon strength must be increased gradually with specific rehabilitation exercises. Other treatment options include NSAID medications for short-term pain relief, orthotics, physiotherapy, glyceryl trinitrate patches, acupuncture and, for extreme cases, surgery. Local steroid injections are effective in eliminating pain in the short-term, but may cause skin atrophy and depigmentation in the long-term. Botulinum toxin A injections have also been proven effective when injected into the 3rd and 4th fingers, although the downside is that these fingers remain somewhat paralyzed for a few months.
If left untreated, tennis and golfer’s elbows can become chronic, displaying repeated symptomatic incidents. They may worsen over time, and require many months to heal. Inadequate rest and exercising through the pain will also aggravate the conditions.
we offer ultrasound guided injections with cortisone, prolotherapy, PRP (platelet-rich plasma) injections, autologous blood injections, medication, physiotherapy, acupuncture, active exercises, psychotherapy, biofeedback, and assistive devices like braces and TENS/MET devices.
Sources:
http://www.patient.co.uk/doctor/epicondylitis-lateral-and-medial
http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/elbow/a/elbow2.htm
http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/elbow/a/elbow3.htm