I read with interest the article "Pronator Teres Myotendinous Tear" by Drs. Qayyum, Villacis, and Jobin ( Am J Orthop . 2017;46(2):E105-E107), and I commend the authors for their interesting exploration of this unusual injury.
I would like to note that this pathology was previously reported by our group in 2015. 1 We now have a 2-year follow-up on this patient, and he has remained asymptomatic since his return to golf. Since this article was published, we have been contacted by 3 patients (one of whom is a radiologist who interpreted his own magnetic resonance imaging) describing similar mechanisms of injury, symptoms, imaging findings, and recovery with nonoperative management. This suggests that pronator teres rupture may have been previously unrecognized or underreported.
It is interesting that this patient was injured when his club stuck in the ground while our patient reported taking only a small divot during his injury. From these differing mechanisms it is unclear whether forceful contraction or sudden loading is the largest risk factor for obtaining this injury, and this could be a point for further research. As awareness of this injury pattern spreads, we look forward to seeing larger series and establishing the success rate of nonoperative treatment and the risk factors for its failure.
Brooks W. Ficke, MD
Brent A. Ponce, MD
Birmingham, AL
Authors' Response
We appreciate Dr. Ficke’s comments regarding his experience treating pronator teres injuries and agree that they are likely under-recognized and possibly underreported. We are uncertain which mechanisms during the golf swing strains the pronator teres to the point of injury, but it may be a combination of muscular fatigue, forceful contraction, and sudden resistance to concentric loading during the club striking the ground. In our experience, these injuries do appear to heal without observable deficit. Our patient is back golfing regularly without any arm symptoms and actually had an improvement in his golf handicap this season.
Charles M. Jobin, MD
Usama Qayyum, MBBS
Diego Villacis, MD
New York, NY