Elbow pain is one of the problems frequently experienced in modern life. This occurs due to various reasons. Representative examples include pain diseases that occur in muscles and tendons. Pain occurs due to elbow arthritis, degenerative arthritis, sports injuries such as muscle and ligament sprains, and traumatic fractures.
Widely known diseases related to elbow pain include ‘tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis)’ and ‘golf elbow (medial epicondylitis).’ Tennis elbow occurs mainly in the extensor muscles. The extensors are tendons that straighten the fingers and bend the wrist, and perform the same function as a car motor when moving the hand outward from the elbow.
When the extensor muscles and load are concentrated due to overuse of the hand or arm, pain and activity limitations are caused. And golfer’s elbow occurs in the flexor tendons, causing pain when bending the fingers and wrist.
The basic prerequisite for treating all elbow pain diseases is correcting the cause of the disease. Therefore, when elbow pain occurs, the most important thing is to find out why the pain occurred, find the main cause, and proceed with various treatments appropriate for it.
Non-surgical treatment is preferred in the early stages of elbow pain, and it is important to consistently stretch in daily life. In the case of tennis elbow, straighten the affected arm, use the opposite hand to bend the wrist, and rotate the fingers so that they face outward.
For golf elbow, it is recommended to stretch with the palm facing upward, bending the wrist using the opposite hand, and twisting the direction so that the fingers point inward. However, these stretches must be performed with the correct method and intensity under the guidance of a doctor and physical therapist, and if the pain becomes worse, you must immediately stop stretching and focus on treatment.
Along with stretching, you can take anti-inflammatory painkillers and try extracorporeal shock waves that help heal damaged tissues of muscles and ligaments. In the case of injection treatment, steroids, DNA injections, hypertonic saline solution, etc. are used. Injection treatment has good anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects, but repeated and habitual injections may reduce tissue regeneration ability, so the procedure is performed after detailed consultation and over a sufficient period of time.
In the case of tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow, surgical treatment is rare. It is recommended to undergo non-surgical treatment for at least 6 months and then monitor the condition before receiving treatment. However, if symptoms do not improve at all or worsen, surgical treatment may be considered.
In the case of tennis elbow, it can be corrected relatively simply through an arthroscope, but in the case of golfer’s elbow, the risk of nerve damage is high, so incisional surgery is necessary to release the tendon after making an incision of about 4 to 5 cm. Because the overall prognosis of these surgeries is good, surgical treatment is often performed for recurrent and chronic elbow pain.
Lee Seung-hwan, director of Seongbuk The Seoul Hospital (orthopedic specialist), said, “Elbow pain occurs easily in daily life and repeatedly worsens and improves, causing discomfort in daily life, so prevention, early diagnosis, and appropriate treatment are important.” “We need to find a place that has its own imaging equipment such as ray and MRI as soon as possible,” he explained.
Reporter Jeong Hee-won happy1@segye.com
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