Mayo Clinic orthopedics and sports medicine: Tommy John & elbow injuries
Mayo Clinic experts in elbow injury discuss conditions arising in their patients, such as those commonly called golfer's elbow or tennis elbow. While these conditions typically affect athletes, they also affect those who are nonathletes. They discuss treatment strategies for tendinopathy, from physical therapy to injections and orthobiologics. The experts also talk about injury to the medial ulnar collateral ligament, known as the Tommy John injury, which occurs especially in throwing athletes. Treatment strategies they use for this injury range from nonoperative therapy, likely to heal injuries caught early, and surgical options of simple repair or reconstruction, which have more than a 90% chance of success.
One of the elbow injury advances they are excited about involves repair or reconstruction augmentation with collagen-coated suture tape. This tape is added when the surgeon inserts a graft, which serves as a brace for the elbow. Their hope, whether with elite athletes, everyday athletes or nonathletes, is to get patients back to doing the things they enjoy. Mayo Clinic also conducts ongoing investigations of elbow injury risk factors.
