David Dines, MD & Joshua Dines, MD provide a broad range of Orthopedic Sports Medicine services. Both are attending surgeons at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City.
David Dines, MD, has built his practice based on decades of clinical experience and research focusing on the shoulder and related injuries. He is the Medical Director for the ATP World Tennis Tour and has operated on thousands of shoulders throughout his career while publishing many of the most important research articles and textbooks on shoulder surgery.
Joshua Dines, MD provides a full range of Sports Medicine services, including surgical and non-surgical treatments for injuries to the shoulder, knee, and elbow. He works with the NY Mets and NY Rangers as well as college athletes, high-school athletes, weekend warriors, and those patients just looking to get back to performing their everyday activities without pain. Together, Dines Orthopedics offers offices in two convenient locations in New York City at Hospital for Special Surgery and in Uniondale Long Island, offering their patients surgical and non-surgical options in both locations.
Medial epicondylitis or golfer’s elbow is a condition that affects the medial side of the elbow in both athletes and non-athletes. Patients with this condition experience pain over the medial epicondyle. Weakness and pain are also commonly associated with this condition. Golfer’s elbow can cause even the simplest of daily activities like pouring water more challenging.
Much like tennis elbow, medial epicondylitis will resolve with conservative treatments. A physical therapy program will help improve the strength of the elbow and forearm muscles. Cortisone injections may also help alleviate pain. It is crucial to note that these injections should be limited because they have adverse side effects regarding the tendon and put the tendon at risk of more tearing.
Those whose symptoms do not improve with conservative treatments, platelet-rich plasma injections, or surgery become viable options. PRP injections do not have the same risks as cortisone injections associated with them. Surgery for the golfer’s elbow is done through a small incision. The surgeon removes the torn tissue and repairs the healthy-appearing tendon back to its insertion on the medial epicondyle. This is an out-patient surgery, and postoperative care involves wearing a splint for the first week and starting physical therapy after. The patient can return to their sport three months post-op.
Contact Us For Treatment For Golfers Elbow in Nassau County, NY
Treating Golfers Elbow
Millions of Americans experience some form of elbow injury every year. Dines Orthopedics offers treatment for many of these injuries with our Treatment for Golfer’s Elbow in Nassau County, NY. We can treat your elbow injury and help you get back to doing what you love. Elbow injuries are frequent among athletes and can be debilitating depending on your sport. For golfers developing an elbow injury could mean weeks staying off the course for weeks. If you believe you have developed golfers elbow contact Dines Orthopedics today.
One of the most common injuries our Treatment for Golfer’s Elbow in Nassau County, NY treats is medial epicondylitis, also known as golfers’ elbow. People who suffer from medial epicondylitis experience pain in the inner aspect of the elbow. They may also experience pain or weakness in their wrist flexion and forearm pronation. Medial epicondylitis can also affect your daily activities, such as pouring a drink or shaking someone’s hand.
Although the name could give off the impression that it only affects golfers, it can happen to anyone who overuses their forearm. Tennis players are prone to getting medial epicondylitis rather than lateral epicondylitis. For golfers, medial epicondylitis occurs when they play golf too much. The condition can also happen to golfers based on poor form. Medial epicondylitis is a widespread elbow injury that can affect one who overuses the muscles. Let’s take a look at the symptoms of and how golfers’ elbows can be treated.
Symptoms for Golfers Elbow
The leading cause for golfers’ elbow is usually the overuse of the muscles that help you grip, rotate your arm, and flex your wrist. It’s common for golfers to experience medial epicondylitis due to the repetitive swinging, flexing, and gripping. These repetitive motions can cause tears or pulls in the arm’s tendons. Some examples of typical symptoms for golfers elbow are:
- Pain and tenderness felt in the inner side of the elbow
- Feeling of stiffness in your elbow
- Hand and wrist weakness
- Experiencing numbness or tingling
These symptoms can also be mistaken for other conditions such as cubital tunnel syndrome, ulnar collateral ligament, or ulnar neuritis. That’s why it’s essential to see a physician, so you can get an accurate diagnosis for the symptoms. Our Treatment for Golfer’s Elbow in Nassau County, NY can help give the proper diagnosis for your symptoms.
Treatment for Golfers Elbow
Treatment for golfers’ elbows usually involves conservative treatment most of the time. The most essential step to recovering from golfers’ elbow is ending the activity that’s causing the injury. An example would be a golfer or tennis player who would have to stop playing their sports to heal. An adequately structured physical therapy program that focuses on stretching and strengthening the muscles is essential for the golfers’ elbow treatment process. When the golfer or athlete experiences zero pain in their muscles after the treatment process, they must slowly return to their sports to avoid the elbow’s overuse.
In some cases, the injury could be more chronic. In some cases, specifically acute cases, some may rely on the usage of cortisone injections. Cortisone injections can help ease the pain for the injury; however, the injections’ benefits are not for the long-term recovery. The injections may also cause some adverse side effects. An example of these side effects is making the tendon more prone to tearing if more injections are administered. There are two last treatment options for people who did not use physical therapy for treatment or have a more chronic case.
The first treatment option is the usage of platelet-rich plasma. Platelet-rich plasma injections do not provide the same adverse side effects that cortisone injections cause. If platelet-rich plasma injections do not work for the patient, they will most likely undergo surgery.
The surgery is not long, and the patient would be home the same day of the procedure. The surgery consists of a small incision removing the torn tendon’s degenerate piece and repairing the tendon to help the elbow get back to its healthy state. After the surgery, the patient is usually kept in a splint for a week and then placed into physical therapy the following week. For athletes, they would most likely return to their sports within three months after the surgery.
Treatment for Golfer’s Elbow in Nassau County, NY
Are you experiencing any symptoms of golfers’ elbows? Are you suffering from golfers’ elbows and need treatment? At Dines Orthopedics, we offer some of the best elbow injury treatments from our Treatment for Golfer’s Elbow in Nassau County, NY. To learn more about our services, visit our website here.