Elbow and Forearm Injuries

Athletes, depending on the specific moving pattern or force of acute trauma, sustain a wide variety of injuries of the elbow and forearm. The incidence of acute traumatic events in athletes is rather rare compared to overuse injuries. The former is associated with high impact sports or a fall on the outstretched arm. Direct trauma can lead to tendon ruptures, ligament tears, fractures or dislocation of the elbow. The latter is very common in any athlete with repetitive elbow flexion and extension or pronation and supination wrist motion. Overuse injuries may cause tendinopathies of the triceps- and biceps tendon or medial and lateral epicondylitis. Osteochondral lesions in the elbow also go back to repetitive microtrauma and altered biomechanics of the joint and concern adolescent throwing athletes. Entrapment syndromes such as the pronator- or cubital tunnel syndrome are part of the nerval entity and have to be differentiated to acute nerve lesions. The aforementioned injuries have a big impact on overhead athletes, especially on those in throwing, catching and swinging sports.