Medial Instability of the Elbow

Jung,  Hyoung Seok; Park,  Min Jong

doi:2018.23.2.78

Arch Hand Microsurg > Volume 23(2); 2018 > Article

Review

Archives of Hand and Microsurgery 2018;23(2):78-86.
Published online June 1, 2018.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12790/ahm.2018.23.2.78

Medial Instability of the Elbow

Hyoung Seok Jung¹, Min Jong Park²

¹Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Chung-Ang University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
²Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. mjp3506@skku.edu

Received: 11 May 2018 • Revised: 15 May 2018 • Accepted: 15 May 2018

Abstract

Medial elbow instability has been a debilitating problem for the athlete performing overhead throwing and the increase in the number of participants in throwing sports has brought increase in its incidence in non-athletes. Instability can occur as a result of a single traumatic event, but, in most cases, it develops as a result of repetitive micro-trauma over a long period of time. During the overhead throwing, tensile force is applied to the medial stabilizing structures and compressive force is applied to the lateral structures. Common injuries encountered in the throwing elbow include medial collateral ligament tear, ulnar nerve neuropathy, flexor-pronator tendinitis or tear and valgus extension overload syndrome. Knowledge of the anatomy and biomechanics of the elbow joint, along with an understanding of throwing mechanism, is necessary to properly diagnose and treat the throwing athlete. The purpose of this article is to review the functional anatomy of medial elbow stabilizing structure, pathophysiology of medial elbow instability and its diagnostic method and treatment option including reconstruction of medial collateral ligament.

Key Words: Medial elbow instability, Medial collateral ligament, Ulnar nerve