Treatment:

The goal of treatment is to relieve pain and swelling. Treatment may include:

• Heat therapy
• Local injection of cortisone and an numbing medicine
• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (such as ibuprofen, naproxen or aspirin)
• Physical therapy
• Pulsed ultrasound to break up scar tissue, promote healing, and increase blood flow in the area
• Using a splint to keep the forearm and elbow still for 2 to 3 weeks

To prevent the injury from happening again, a splint may be worn during activities that aggravate the condition. Or, you may need to limit certain activities. If the pain persists despite non-surgical treatments, surgery may be necessary.

Expectations (prognosis):

Most people improve with non-surgical treatment. The majority of those who do have surgery show an improvement in symptoms.

Complications:

• Failure to improve with nonsurgical or surgical treatment. This may be due to nerve entrapment in the forearm
• Recurrence of the injury with overuse
• Rupture of the tendon with repeated steroid injections

Calling your health care provider:

Apply home treatment (over-the-counter anti-inflammatory analgesics and immobilization) if symptoms are mild or if you have had this disorder before and you know this is what you have.

Call for an appointment with your health care provider if this is the first time you have had these symptoms, or if home treatment does not relieve the symptoms.