MEDIAL EPICONDYLITIS

Medial epicondylitis (ME) is a relatively rare disease that significantly reduces the working capacity and quality of life of patients. Because ME is not common, publications devoted to it are scarce, and their information is sparse and fragmented, ultimately leading to an informational deficit among medical professionals, and, as a consequence, to poorer outcomes in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with ME. This literature review aims to fill in this informational gap by providing a broad range of medical specialists with modern views on the diagnosis and treatment of patients with ME. A search was performed for papers published since 2014 in the eLibrary, PubMed, Cochrane, and Scopus databases using the keywords “medial epicondylitis” and “medial elbow tendinopathy”. In total, 51 publications were identified, of which 37 were selected. An analysis of information was carried out, and a modern view was formulated on the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of ME. It is noted that most patients with ME are successfully treated conservatively. Surgical treatment includes open surgery, injection, and arthroscopic techniques, the choice of which depends on the patient’s condition and the physician’s preferences. Injections of platelet‑rich plasma, autologous blood, bone marrow aspirate, autologous tenocytes, and botulinum toxin show particular effectiveness in patients with ME. Still, evidence‑based multicenter studies have not been performed. Combined use of physical and instrumental methods allows differential diagnosis, clinical diagnosis, and personalized treatment of the patient with ME. Treatment of patients with ME should start timely, be systematic, pathogenetically justified, and consistent. Failure to follow these principles leads to chronicization of the disease and hampers treatment results. If there are indications, surgical treatment of ME should be performed. The use of extraarticular arthroscopy and transcatheter arterial embolization in the surgical treatment of patients with ME makes it possible to perform it more effectively and less invasively compared with the classic surgical technique. Keywords: Elbow joint, medial epicondylitis, tendinopathy, medial elbow tendinopathy, transcatheter arterial embolization.