Medial Epicondylitis

Tis the season for everyone getting back to their summer softball and golfing leagues. Medial Epicondylitis (Golfer’s Elbow/Baseball Elbow) is a musculoskeletal disorder that causes pain on the inside of the elbow. Although it is a rare condition, it can still occur. It is inflammation in the flexor tendons of the wrist. Think of bringing your palm towards your wrist. This is working your flexors, do you feel pain located at your elbow?

There are different treatments for tendonopathies depending on if it is an acute or chronic condition. Acute tendonitis is when there is inflammation in the tendons due to a recent injury. Chronic tendonosis occurs when you change how you are moving to avoid the pain. This happens due to an injuries that never fully heals or if you have a job that require repetitive motions that take a toll on the tendons. Chronic tendonosis can lead to degeneration of the tendons. Does that mean that you will never be able to not have pain in your arm? Nope, but there may be modification that need to be made to take tension off the tendons.

Most tendonopathies will recover within 3-6 months but may take longer depending on how long the pain has been here as well as the severity of the pain.