Abstracts Posters SICOT-SOF meeting Gothenburg 2010 _2_

Poster
Topic: Sports Medicine - Elbow
Abstract number: 23826
EPICONDYLITIS DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS IN SWIMMERS
Luis CARRASCO MARTINEZ, Javier CARRASCO MARTINEZ, Valentin
ROBLEDANO BELDA, Arnaldo RODRIGUEZ HERNANDEZ
Clinica Perpetuo Socorro, Las Palmas De Gran Canaria (SPAIN)
INTRODUCTION: Myofascial Trigger Points (MTP) are hyperirritable spots in skeletal
muscle that are associated with a hypersensitive palpable nodule in a taut band. The
area is painful to compression, causing characteristic refereed pain and
hypersensitivity, motor dysfunction and even autonomic phenomena. The pattern of
refereed pain and hypersensitivity constitute the key for their identification.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: Non experimental study of approaching to reality and of
descriptive type of 44 federated non professional freestyle swimmers who presented
pain and tenderness locally to the lateral epicondyle. We used the MTP diagnostic
clinical criteria proposed by Travell and Simons, exploratory tests (passive flexion of
the elbow and active resisting extension of the forearm at the elbow) and unuseful
tapping for relieving pain. RESULTS: The 44 swimmers 20 men (45.45%), 18-22
years old, 10 right-10 left, and 24 women (54.55%), 20-24 years old, 20 right-4 left.
All cases presented the essential diagnostic criteria and pain or sensitive alteration
when pressing anconeus MTP between the lateral epicondyle and the olecranon
process. It was very easy to reproduce LTR manually. All swimmers experienced
pain with muscle tests. No one of them referred relief with the tapping.In all of them,
the MTP activation was done by elbow extension to finish the pulling phase.
CONCLUSION: Whenever the diagnoses of tennis elbow or lateral epicondylitis are
being seriously considered, the possibility that at least some of the symptoms are
being caused by anconeus MTP must be explored.
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