What Are Elbow Ligament Injuries, Tennis Elbow and Golfers Elbow?

Elbow Ligament Injuries or MCL (Medial Collateral Ligament) injuries occur frequently in athletes who throw. The MCL happens to be a vital stabilizer, particularly during an overhead throwing motion. Recreational athletes, non-throwing athletes, and professional quarterbacks who suffer from these ligament injuries usually do not need surgical intervention. In manual laborers, javelin throwers, or baseball players, the ligament might need to be repaired in order to restore the earlier levels of activeness or athleticism. 

If the Median Collateral Ligament gets torn with an acute pop, an MRI scan with dye injected into the elbow is usually ordered for confirming the diagnosis. If the ligament of a high-level thrower gets torn, it is usually treated surgically. In absence of a pop, a minimum of 12 weeks of non-operative treatment that includes strengthening of muscles around the elbow should be attempted in order to avoid surgery. 

Tennis Elbow and Golfers Elbow are two different kinds of problems. The problem is called Tennis Elbow when the tendon issues occur on the outer side of the elbow. The problem is termed Golfers Elbow when the tendon concerns occur on the inner side of the elbow. The conditions are the same, but the areas are different. Although the tendon problem of Tennis Elbow and Golfers Elbow can be caused by an injury, they are frequently due to overuse of tendons that leads to tendon breakdown, over time. Known as “tendinosis”, this kind of tendon damage means tendon degeneration.