Isolated complete ulnar collateral ligament tear of the elbow in a gymnast: does it need surgery?

ABSTRACT

Ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) tears can occur from trauma or chronic overuse, and the treatment depends on the type of sport the patient plays and the severity of symptoms. Overuse UCL injuries are most commonly due to micro-trauma in overhead athletes such as baseball players, softball players, and tennis players. Acute complete UCL tears in athletes due to trauma are less common but generally operative treatment is recommended. In gymnastics, elbow dislocations are more common than isolated UCL injuries, and there is sparse literature on the success of non-operative treatment of isolated UCL injuries in this group of athletes. In this case report, we report a high-level competitive gymnast with an UCL tear and a partial tear of the forearm flexor mass, which was confirmed by a thorough careful physical examination and magnetic resonance imaging. The patient was treated non-operatively and successfully returned to gymnastics without symptoms. This case supports the suggestion that UCL tears of the elbow can be treated successfully in some gymnasts without surgery, and that treatment should be individualized in this group of athletes.

KEYWORDS:

• Elbow
• gymnastics
• treatment
• ulnar collateral ligament tear

Declaration of interest

EG McFarland declares the following: Consultant Stryker Corporation; medical legal work; editorial board American Journal Sports Medicine; editorial board Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research; fellowship support from DePuy-Mitek; speakers bureau Stryker Corporation (arthroplasty). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties. Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This manuscript was not funded.