Distal biceps tendon injuries are very serious injuries. The biceps is a large muscle in the front of the upper arm. It is responsible for flexing the forearm at the elbow as well as supinating the forearm. Supination is the motion in which you turn over your forearm so that your palm faces up. The [...]
+Continue ReadingA flexor-pronator strain of the elbow is a common source of pain in the elbows of pitchers. The pain is located on the medial side of the elbow (the inside of the elbow closest to the body). There are many causes of pain on the medial side of the elbow in pitchers and other throwing [...]
+Continue ReadingOne of the injuries the avid tennis player is likely to suffer at some point in his or her career is tennis elbow. It is actually not uncommon in athletes of other sports, such as golf. In fact, many non-athletic individuals have this complaint. Tennis elbow, or lateral epicondylitis, often starts with no specific injury. [...]
+Continue ReadingLittle Leaguer’s elbow refers more to a collection of injuries to the elbow in young throwing athletes rather than one specific injury. When a sports medicine physician uses the term “Little Leaguer’s elbow” or “Little Leaguer’s shoulder”, he or she is usually referring to overuse issues with growing athletes. Among the specific injuries that can [...]
+Continue ReadingMedial epicondylitis is similar to lateral epicondylitis (“tennis elbow”). It is typically a problem that develops over time rather than one that occurs after a specific event. Like lateral epicondylitis, which causes pain on the outside of the elbow, medial epicondylitis causes pain on the inside of the elbow. It is typically most painful just [...]
+Continue ReadingThe olecranon, or tip of the elbow, has a small fluid-filled sac just outside of it to serve as sort of a shock absorber when putting the elbow against hard objects or to prevent friction during elbow range of motion. It is normally very thin. When it is inflamed, it bursa can become large and [...]
+Continue ReadingA stress fracture of the olecranon (tip of the elbow) manifests as a cause of chronic pain just as stress fractures in other parts of the body do. Athletes who throw frequently, especially baseball pitchers, are the athletes who frequently develop olecranon stress fractures. Just like other stress fractures, they result from too much microscopic [...]
+Continue ReadingLike osteochondritis dissecans of the knee, osteochondritis dissecans of the capitellum involves a similar lesion in the elbow of young athletes. Typically it is seen in gymnasts or baseball players with repetitive compression to the outside of the elbow. The disease process is exactly the same in that the bone under the articular cartilage starts [...]
+Continue ReadingTriceps tendinitis is an infrequent but often very limiting cause of elbow pain in athletes. Baseball pitchers and other throwing athletes are usually the ones who experience this problem, but occasionally it can be seen in weightlifters. It is an inflammation of the triceps tendon as it inserts into the olecranon process (the tip of [...]
+Continue ReadingA triceps tendon rupture is an uncommon injury to the elbow that can be very debilitating. The triceps tendon is the large muscle in the back of the upper arm that serves to straighten the elbow. The triceps tendon attaches the triceps muscle to the olecranon (the bony tip of the elbow). Injury to the [...]
+Continue ReadingWhenever I tell athletes with elbow pain that they might have an ulnar collateral ligament injury, I almost always get blank stares. If I mention that this could be a “Tommy John” injury, these athletes seem to understand what I’m talking about. The injury is nicknamed after the famous baseball pitcher Tommy John, who was [...]
+Continue ReadingUlnar neuritis is an inflammation of the ulnar nerve as it passes on the inside of the elbow down to the forearm and hand. It can also be known as ulnar nerve compression or cubital tunnel syndrome. It is common in throwing athletes, although it can be seen in active people and even non-active people. [...]
+Continue ReadingValgus extension overload is an uncommon cause of posterior elbow pain in most athletes, but it is frequently seen in throwing athletes. It is a problem that typically develops over time rather than with one particular throw or event. Throwers with valgus extension overload typically complain of pain at the tip of the elbow in [...]
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C. David Geier Jr., M.D.
