Epicondylitis

Last updated
Epicondylitis
Symptoms Elbow pain, pain with elbow movement, or pain at the elbow with wrist movement.

Burning sensation in the forearm.

Diminished grip strength.
TreatmentRest, ice, physical therapy, steroids, and NSAIDs.
Prognosis Usually well managed with conservative treatment within 6-12 months depending on duration and severity of symptoms.

Epicondylitis is the inflammation of an epicondyle or of adjacent tissues. [1] Epicondyles are on the medial and lateral aspects of the elbow, consisting of the two bony prominences at the distal end of the humerus. These bony projections serve as the attachment point for the forearm musculature. [2] Inflammation to the tendons and muscles at these attachment points can lead to medial and/or lateral epicondylitis. This can occur through a range of factors that overuse the muscles that attach to the epicondyles, such as sports or job-related duties that increase the workload of the forearm musculature and place stress on the elbow. Lateral epicondylitis is also known as “Tennis Elbow” due to its sports related association to tennis athletes, while medial epicondylitis is often referred to as “golfer's elbow.”

Contents

Risk factors

Symptoms

Diagnosis

Golfers-Elbow Golfers-Elbow SAG.jpg
Golfers-Elbow

Pathophysiology

Tennis Elbow Tennis Elbow.png
Tennis Elbow

Treatment

Conservative treatment options include: [6]

Should conservative treatment measures fail, non-conservative treatment options can include:

Prognosis  

Epicondylitis, both medial and lateral, has a good prognosis as it can be managed well with conservative treatment and usually does not require surgical intervention. [5]

References

  1. "Epicondylitis". Merriam-Webster.com Medical Dictionary.
  2. Stewart, Sophie. "Medial epicondyle of humerus". Kenhub.[ self-published source? ]
  3. Walker-Bone et al. 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 Chiarotto et al. 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Taylor & Hannafin 2012.
  6. 1 2 3 Karabinov & Georgiev 2022.
  7. DeLuca et al. 2023.

Sources

  1. Walker-Bone, K.; Palmer, K. T.; Reading, I.; Coggon, D.; Cooper, C. (February 2012). "Occupation and epicondylitis: a population-based study". Rheumatology. 51 (2): 305–310. doi:10.1093/rheumatology/ker228. PMC   3427015 . PMID   22019808.
  2. Chiarotto, Alessandro; Gerger, Heike; van Rijn, Rogier M.; Elbers, Roy G.; Søgaard, Karen; Macri, Erin M.; Jackson, Jennie A.; Burdorf, Alex; Koes, Bart W. (April 2023). "Physical and psychosocial work-related exposures and the occurrence of disorders of the elbow: A systematic review". Applied Ergonomics. 108 103952. doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2022.103952 . PMID   36493677. S2CID   254397900.
  3. Taylor, Samuel A.; Hannafin, Jo A. (September 2012). "Evaluation and management of elbow tendinopathy". Sports Health. 4 (5): 384–393. doi:10.1177/1941738112454651. PMC   3435941 . PMID   23016111.
  4. Karabinov, Vesselin; Georgiev, Georgi P. (18 April 2022). "Lateral epicondylitis: New trends and challenges in treatment". World Journal of Orthopedics. 13 (4): 354–364. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v13.i4.354 . PMC   9048498 . PMID   35582153.
  5. DeLuca, Meridith K.; Cage, Emily; Stokey, Phillip J.; Ebraheim, Nabil A. (September 2023). "Medial epicondylitis: Current diagnosis and treatment options". Journal of Orthopaedic Reports. 2 (3): 100172. doi: 10.1016/j.jorep.2023.100172 . S2CID   258338795.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: article number as page number (link)