THROWER'S ELBOW

What is Thrower’s Elbow?

• Thrower’s Elbow is a term that comprehensively describes an injury to the elbow due to throwing mechanics. More specifically, the medial stabilizers of the elbow: muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bony structures.

• During the late phases of throwing, the elbow is exposed to high stress and an extreme valgus load on the elbow (Powell et. al., 2021). Over time, this leads to degenerative changes due to the microtrauma occurring.

• The sports that most commonly see this type of injury include baseball, softball, football and javelin throwers.

What are the different injuries that encompass Thrower’s Elbow?

• Discussing Thrower’s Elbow can be a daunting task, however, understanding the multitude of injuries that encompass this diagnosis may be helpful.

• These injuries include medial ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) tears, ulnar neuritis, flexor-pronator injury, medial epicondyle apophysitis or avulsion, valgus extension overload syndrome with olecranon osteophytes, olecranon stress fractures, osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) of the capitellum, and loose bodies. (Patel, et. al., 2014))

How do you know if you have Thrower’s Elbow?

• If you are experiencing pain on both sides of the elbow, weakness, decreased throwing velocity/speed, stiffness, decreased range of motion, and in special cases numbness/tingling down into the hand, you may be experiencing Thrower’s Elbow pain.

What are my treatment options?

• There are a plethora of treatment options including both operative and non-operative. Dependent upon your physical examination and findings, your physician will determine the best course of treatment for your specific case.
• Click here to learn more about the treatments Boston Sports and Biologics offers.

Resources:

• Patel RM, Lynch TS, Amin NH, Calabrese G, Gryzlo SM, Schickendantz MS. The thrower's elbow. Orthop Clin North Am. 2014 Jul;45(3):355-76. doi: 10.1016/j.ocl.2014.03.007. PMID: 24975763. https://www.sciencedirect.com/...

• Powell, G. M., Murthy, N. S., & Johnson, A. C. (2021). Radiographic and MRI Assessment of the Thrower's Elbow. Current reviews in musculoskeletal medicine, 14(3), 214–223. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12178-021-09702-x

• Ronak M. Patel, T. Sean Lynch, Nirav H. Amin, Gary Calabrese, Stephen M. Gryzlo, Mark S. Schickendantz, The Thrower’s Elbow,Orthopedic Clinics of North America,Volume 45, Issue 3,2014,Pages 355-376,ISSN 0030-5898,ISBN 9780323311670,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocl.....

Other Elbow Conditions

• Elbow Arthritis
• Distal Biceps Tendinopathy
• Tennis Elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis)
• Triceps tendinopathy
  
• Ulnar or radial neuritis (PIN lesions)
• Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL) partial tears