Arthroscopic surgical treatment of medial epicondylitis

Medial epicondylitis, also known as golfer’s elbow, is a painful condition on the inside of the elbow that is usually treated with nonoperative treatments such as refraining from doing activities that cause pain, physical therapy, and bracing.  On occasion, these treatments fail to completely relieve the elbow pain and surgical treatment is recommended.  Historically, the surgical treatment for medial epicondylitis has been open surgical debridement.  Over the last few years, however, a push has been made to determine if minimally invasive, arthroscopic treatment is safe and effective.  I recently reviewed a new article in the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery discussing the arthroscopic treatment of medial epicondylitis.   In this small study of seven patients, the functional outcome scores and pain were noted to be significantly less after arthroscopic surgical treatment with no significant complications.  Although a small study, I believe that this study does provide some indication that when done properly, arthroscopic surgical treatment may be an option for certain patients with medial epicondylitis that have failed to improve with nonoperative treatment.  As someone who does a lot of elbow arthroscopy, this article is encouraging and may help me better treat my patients with this painful condition.