Golfers Elbow

 

Golfers Elbow

Golfers Elbow is a common condition of the elbow that causes pain on the inside of the elbow, running down into the forearm. It is less common than tennis Elbow. It is usually caused by a small injury to the tendons of the elbow, where they attach to the bone that has not healed properly. It can be diagnosed with a specialist elbow examination. The pain can cause significant discomfort and make the arm difficult to use.  It can usually be treated with physiotherapy, off-loaded clasps, stretching exercises or ultrasound therapy.   Platelet rich plasma or PRP injection is a new technique, which may also be beneficial and is offered by the team (click to see animation).

 

Occasionally the symptoms will not settle and surgery is a possibility.  Ultrasound can be useful in helping with the diagnosis and a guided local anaesthetic injection can be used to help predict the outcome of surgery. If surgery is considered, it can be performed as a day-case. The procedure is termed a golfers elbow release. The ExeterElbow surgeons perform around 5 of these procedures each year. It takes about 6-12 weeks to recover from the procedure.