Journal of Sports Medicine & Doping Studies

Oral and maxillofacial injuries are common in sporting activities, especially in contact combat sports. It has been stated by a number of researchers that obligatory dental and orofacial protection for all athletes have major effects in preventing injuries and associated life-long discomfort, as well as reducing the treatment costs. Boxing exposes athletes to severe head impacts and risk of brain injury, as well as disorders resulting from chronic recurrent traumas. The purpose of this report is to state the causes of temporomandibular joint disorders in boxing athletes and emphasize the importance of preventive measures and routine screening by a TMJ specialist maxillofacial surgeon.

An operation is presented to relieve the pain of medial epicondylitis related to a throwing injury in a teenage baseball player. This 17 year old had progressive pain at the medial humeral epicondyle only with the pitching motion. His MRI was normal and he did not have any symptoms of ulnar nerve entrapment. A nerve block of the nerve to the medial humeral epicondyle enabled him to carry out the pitching motion without pain. The nerve was resected about 2 cm proximal to the medial humeral epicondyle at the medial intermuscular septum and the proximal end of the nerve implanted into the medial head of the triceps muscle. At three weeks after surgery he resumed pitching. At one year following the denervation, he is able to pitch without the previous pain. This is the first reported treatment of this problem in a pitcher by denervation, and demonstrates the ability to return to sports rapidly after this minimally invasive procedure.