Testimonials

Elbow pain, golf elbow. (Female/ 50's)

Symptoms before treatment

I love playing golf and went to play a round at least once a week. But, about one and half year ago, I started feeling a pain in my left elbow (right above the funny bone area) without any particular reason.

*Humeral epicondylitis also known as golf elbow is an inflammation of area in arm with a lot of muscles.

At first, I noticed that I have a slight pain in the same area while taking a bath, and over the next 6 months it gradually worsened. Even I touched the area lightly, it was painful (**this is a condition called allodynia, a hypersensitive nerve condition)

At that time, the pain became very strong when I hit the golf ball in the swing. I liked playing golf, but I had to give it up due to the pain. When I turned over at night, I felt pain in my elbow and became very anxious.

The pain was getting worse and I started feeling the strong pain while driving or just staying in the same position every day. I visited several orthopedic surgeons and the doctors checked the X-rays, but they found nothing wrong with me. I was told to take painkillers, but I felt giddy and the pain did not get any better. I was not sure what to do. However, one of my golf friends told me that she improved her back pain after visiting OKUNO CLINIC.

Findings from our doctor

At her first visit, we found that she had problem blood vessels in her arm. A swelling was also found in the same area. Catheterization was the best treatment because a treatment by local injection in the same area could make the tendon more vulnerable.

As you can see in the below image, the place she felt the pain is identical to the place of problem blood vessels exist, and we did the embolization treatment by a catheter.

After the treatment

Before the catheterization, she said she felt the pain even when touching her elbow lightly, but right after the treatment, such pain disappeared.

Generally, the catheterization treatment tends to reduce pain at night and pain from sitting in the same position at first. And then reduce pain from movement later.

She was also the same and improved the pain from movement gradually about a month after the treatment. She resumed playing golf carefully and five months after the treatment she could go to a round and play like before.

She told us that golf was a part of her life and glad that she can play it again.