The Culprits of Chronic Elbow Pain

The Annular Ligament:
This ligament connects and stabilizes the two bones of the forearm, the ulna and the radius. Activities that involve rotation of the elbow, such as screwing in a light bulb, turning a screw driver, using a cork screw, puts a tremendous stress on this ligament. It especially includes those activities in sports where throwing is involved, or where an implement is used to drive a ball.

Sometimes the pain in the annular ligament can refer itself down into the thumb, wrist and index and middle fingers, mimicking and sometimes leading to an incorrect diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome.

While an acute injury, like a fall, can be responsible for annular ligament injury, it is usually repetitive motion that does it. This type of elbow injury can last for months and is usually diagnosed under the umbrella term “tennis elbow.”

“Golfer’s Elbow” is another umbrella term coined to describe elbow pain when flexing the wrist and hand are required as in activities such as grasping, clutching, and typing. It gets its name “Golfer’s Elbow” because the muscles and tendons required to hit a golf ball are the same ones used in the above named activity.

The ligament involved in Golfer’s elbow is the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) which holds the ulnar bone of the foreram to the bottom of the the upper arm bone (the humerus.) When this ligament is injured or weakened its pain can be felt on the inside of the elbow.

Once determined that it is weakness or injury to the tendons or ligament that is causing elbow pain, Prolotherapy can be administered and the pain can be resolved.