Are you often experiencing consistent pain or discomfort on the inside of your elbow? It could be an indication of the onset of the Golfer’s Elbow.
Golfer’s Elbow or Medial Epicondylitis is the inflammation of the medial epicondyle, the bony lump inside the elbow. It occurs due to direct injury, overuse, or repetitive strain.
Research shows that a golfer’s elbow usually resolves independently with self-care. However, the lack of proper medial epicondylitis treatment will take time, making you live with pain and limiting your ability to make the most of your time.
A wide range of treatments is available to provide comprehensive care for the golfer’s elbow, including rest, physiotherapy, and anti-inflammatory medications. But what if these conservative measures cannot heal the condition? Scroll down to know about the contemporary treatment for Golfer’s Elbow.
Understanding Injections for Golfer’s Elbow
Injection therapy is commonly used among individuals suffering from Golfer’s elbow to promote healing. It is administering a fluid form of specific medication to a patient using a sharp needle and syringe. This treatment allows better absorption of medications that will give prompt results.
Moreover, doctors suggest injections for those not responding to the conservative golfer’s elbow treatment options.
How do injections work to treat Golfer’s Elbow?
Upon administration, the mixture in the injection will block the pain signal that occurs due to the inflammation of tendons. Patients reported experiencing pain relief within a few hours after the injection.
However, the treatment’s effect depends on the injection type used. For instance, local anaesthetic wears off on the same day, and pain may return. In contrast, corticosteroids or palate-rich plasma therapy will provide long-term pain relief.
Moreover, the endurance of the duration also differs from person to person. For some, the relief might last several months and even longer. For short-term relief, the doctor might suggest repeating the injection therapy.
Types of injections available
Traditionally, healthcare professionals implement cortisone or steroids for the Golfer’s elbow. However, studies have revealed that corticosteroids can harm one’s health when admitted in excess amounts. Even though they reduce the pain for a few weeks, the condition worsens.
Nonetheless, due to the emergence of the regenerative medicine approach, we have other types of injection that can be used to treat the Golfer’s elbow. They are PRP injection therapy, stem cell injection, and prolotherapy injections.
Advanced Treatment Options
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections
Platelet-rich plasma or PRP injection contains the concentration of the individual’s platelets to speed up the healing ability of damaged tendons in the elbow. They are prepared by centrifuging your blood sample to separate the platelet. This therapy has been proven to improve mobility and reduce pain in people with golfers and tennis elbows.
The platelets are prepared in the injection and administered directly into the injured area of the elbow. The activated platelets will release the potential growth factors and specialized proteins that will stimulate the regeneration of damaged tissues to reduce inflammation and provide pain relief for a long time.
When PRP therapy is performed on the right candidate, the success rate can be between 70 – 80% in relieving pain. Though the current studies are promising, more research has to be done in the particular field.
The side effects of PRP therapy are highly rare since the injection is prepared from your blood. Hence, the body will not reject or react adversely to the treatment. However, the patient might experience slight swelling or redness around the injected area, which will resolve within a few days.
- Stem cell injections
Like PRP, stem cell injections are also a part of the advanced field called regenerative medicinal therapy. Stem cell injection is a minimally invasive treatment for a golfer’s elbow that involves harvesting the patient’s blood stem cells. The treatment induces the natural ability to heal your body and repairs the damaged tendons, joints, muscles, and ligaments.
Stem cell injection therapy for the golfer’s elbow involves the regeneration of the damaged tissue in a non-surgical way. The approach will begin with the collection of concentrated blood plasma through centrifugation. After a significant concentration of blood plasma is injected into the injured area of the elbow, the stem cells in the injection will stimulate the body’s self-healing process and restore the health of the tissues.
Compared with the alternative non-surgical treatment for Golfer’s elbow, stem cell therapy shows the best success rates. Since the therapy involves autologous biological cells, it will encourage healing within the tissues. In most cases, elbow pain can be easily treated with an approximate success rate of 80 – 95%, with long-term or permanent pain relief.
Using one’s stem cells leaves no chance of contamination or infection of cells. However, it poses short-term risks from the procedure, such as infection, pain, nerve inflammation, or bleeding.
- Prolotherapy injections
Prolotherapy, also known as proliferation therapy, is an injection modality that induces the regeneration of a damaged tendon caused by the Golfer’s elbow. The therapy involves stimulating the immune system to grow new tissues, subsiding the inflammation, and eliminating the pain.
Upon administration, the simple dextrose or glycerine mixture in the prolotherapy injection will initiate a prompt signaling response that mimics the natural healing process. The injection releases the growth factors and proteins from the blood, stimulating the immune response to recreate a healthy new tissue in the injured area.
Prolotherapy, a significant regenerative medicine, tends to produce a 90% success rate in reducing elbow pain. The injection is prepared from simple sugar or salt solution. Hence prolotherapy doesn’t cause any potential side effects.
Nonetheless, it can have mild adverse effects like pain, bleeding, bruising, and swelling of the infected area while also causing an allergic reaction in some individuals.
Preparation for Injections
- Medical evaluation
Despite the best results shown by injection therapy for the Golfer’s elbow, the treatment is unsuitable for everyone. A person’s age, blood, and health status are also considered when the healthcare professionals evaluate the patient for the procedure. For instance, a person with a low plated count or those with chronic diseases like thyroid is less likely to respond to injection therapy.
- What to expect during the injection
Before administering the injection, the clinician will numb the skin above the tendon of the inner elbow. Then with the help of ultrasound, he will insert the thin needle into the tendon using an advanced peppering technique. The procedure will take less than five minutes, and you can return home the same day.
- Post-injection Care
Rest and rehabilitation
- Avoid involving any rigour activity for the first few days after the injection therapy. You can return to your normal activities depending on the type of injection you have chosen.
- Do not drive on the day of the treatment if you are given anaesthesia.
- Consult an expert therapist for strengthening exercises and simple stretches to improve your flexibility.
- Consume your regular diet and take medication properly.
Follow-up care
In most cases, the results are achieved within a single sitting. However, some patients may take a series of injections and administration to get pain relief. If you feel better results within a month or two, follow up with your healthcare professional to opt for different injection therapy.
Conclusion
Golfer’s elbow is a common painful condition that can affect any individual irrespective of age and gender. If a golfer’s elbow keeps you off the court or even from doing your regular activities, injection therapy could be the solution you are looking for.
Injections are the advanced treatment approach for the condition by accelerating the healing process combined with modern technology. In a nutshell, opting for Injections for Golfer’s Elbow under the guidance of a healthcare professional will relieve your pain and restore functional mobility and better quality of your life.