Women Injury update: elbow

[gymgurl]

Well, after seeing a GP, a sports physician, and x ray and an MRI we have finally figured out why my elbow is sore and causing me grief. What has happened is I had a grade 2 tear of my UCL (Ulna collateral ligament) and it isn't healing at the moment. I have also severely strained my pronator teres and have epicondylitis (tennis elbow). We also found a bone stress reaction but it appears to not be causing me grief so we aren't bothering with ruling out a fracture.

As for moving forward I have been given a prescription for a skin adhesive patch that releases a chemical in to the blood vessels that open them up which promotes healing. Unfortunately, the only way to fix it completely is surgery and basically if I want to do gymnastics properly again I will most likely need to have it. Surgery is not high on my priority list so it looks like I won't be doing anything that is not on tramp anymore.

Not sure how I feel about it but I am sad that I probably won't tumble on floor ever again without surgery.

 

[happychaos]

So sorry gymgurl! What a huge disappointment. I hope you are able to stay in the sport through tramp and coaching.

 

[Gymsanity]

Really sorry to hear the diagnosis, not really the 'take two aspirin, give it a little rest, and you will be fine' that I was hoping for. Any particular skill or accident that could have lead to all of that? What level are you and how old? As for surgery, I think everyone is afraid of that, so don't be too hard on yourself for that one. However, gymnastics aside, you may want to give it some serious thought as you will need that elbow for the rest of your life. You don't want to have some nagging injury to carry with you for years, and getting it fixed now while you are young and heal quicker might be a better choice. Just something to think about, but we will be wishing you the best of luck whatever you decide.

 

[gymgurl]

I am 19 and retired currently but still going to an adult gym class once a week and did this injury in my last competitive training session just before christmas last year. We were doing relays and we were doing fast BWO and my legs went before my arms were ready and I crumpled on my arm. So its not as though I was competitive and this injury put me out of the sport, I was on my way out anyway. The elbow doesn't really give me grief with anything but tumbling. I will most likely still book in an appointment to discuss the pros and cons of surgery with an elbow surgeon.

Thanks for your lovely message

 

[All Chalked Up]

So sorry to hear it. Good luck with recovery

 

[Livychivy95]

This past march I dislocated my elbow and tore my ucl. I didn't have all that other stuff wrong with it obviously but, my doctors actually said "you don't really need that ligament for gymnastics". I thought it was super weird, but after 3 months of a lot of pt and VERY slowly coming back with things like hanging and putting pressure on it, I am nearly back to normal, no surgery. I never got another mri because it just wasn't needed so I'm not sure if it healed itself completely or partway or I just feel better but I'm good now. Not sure if this helps but hopefully gives you a little hope

 

[ivyagogo]

I have tendonitis in my elbow too. The cortisone shot I had back in February has worn off and it really hurts. I'm trying to decide now if I want to try doing some PT or if I should go back for another shot. For me, it's about how much $$ it is going to cost. We have a high deductible and just the shot/office visit is going to cost a lot. I am hoping the PT exercises I saw online will enable me to do PT at home.

 

[gymgurl]

Thats awesome to hear you had such a spectacular recovery livychivy! I think my problem was I left it so long to get it properly checked out that it has impeded proper recovery. At the time there was no swelling or bruising so we didn't suspect anything serious. Long term symptoms told me otherwise and i finally went to see if I could get it sort out. Also I am hypermobile so need all the ligaments I can to try and hold my elbow in and not hyperextending. I am hoping for a recovery like yours!

 

[Livychivy95]

I am hypermobile as well. My arm doesn't hyper extend as much anymore but my other one still does...so I guess it's not perfect I hope you have a good and healthy recovery with or without surgery!!