Elbow Problems in Athletes

Elbow injuries are a very common part of athletic injuries. In fact, there are many sports that have colloquial names for the commonly associated injuries that happened in those particular sports. Most people have heard of tennis elbow which refers to pain along the lateral aspect of the elbow with a backhand maneuver. The lateral side of the elbow is the point farthest away from the body with the arm held at the side (tennis elbow will be discussed in more detail later). Baseball elbow occurs secondary to stresses placed across the elbow during pitching which cause a traction injury along the medial (the side of the elbow closest to the body when held at the side) aspect of the elbow. This injury can lead to instability of the elbow, leading to a surgical reconstruction. Many are aware of Tommy John, a former pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who underwent a medial collateral ligament reconstruction for elbow instability for this particular type of problem. Golfer’s elbow is considered to be pain on both the medial and lateral aspects of the elbow with medial problems occurring on the downswing, with the trailing arm and lateral elbow pain occurring at impact with the leading arm. Weight lifting is known for pain along the medial aspect of the elbow, as well as irritation of the ulnar nerve (funny bone nerve) which gives a sensation of numbness and tingling of the small and ring fingers. As this short list shows, the elbow is commonly injured. There are many more sports such as gymnastics, rock climbing, water skiing, volleyball, basketball, and bowling which are prone to particular types of injuries to the elbow.