Golfers Elbow
What Is Golfers Elbow?
Golfers elbow, or medial epicondylitis, is when the tendons on the inside of the elbow become damaged and painful. The medial epicondyle is the bony prominence on the inside of the elbow to which the tendons of the muscles on the underside of the forearm attach. These muscles travel down to the wrist and hand, providing strength to these areas for actions such as gripping. If these muscles become too tight and overworked then the tendons at the elbow can begin to breakdown, creating the elbow pain and stiffness associated with golfers elbow. It is called golfers elbow because gripping a golf club is one of the actions that can cause it, so living where we do it is an injury we treat regularly at The Physiotherapy Place.
How Do You Get Medial Epicondylitis?
Golfers elbow happens when the wrist flexor muscle group on the underside of the forearm become tight and overused, causing breakdown of the tendons at the elbow. This can happen if you have been doing more activities that involve gripping or squeezing with your hands. If the muscles aren’t used to doing that type of action or the amount of exercise they are being asked to do then they will fatigue quicker and eventually breakdown.
What Is The Difference Between Golfers Elbow And Tennis Elbow?
Golfers elbow is tendon irritation of the muscles on the underside of the forearm and that affects the inside of the elbow (medial epicondylitis), whereas tennis elbow is tendon irritation of the muscles on the topside of the forearm and that affects the outside of the elbow (lateral epicondylitis). They are very similar problems, just on different sides of the elbow.
What Is The Best Treatment For Golfer's Elbow?
I always assess the whole arm to look for things that are causing irritation to the tendon so that these can be treated.
rest from the aggravating activity is always a good start so the sooner you can detect what has caused it the better
forearm muscle release with techniques such as Gunn IMS and stretching will take pressure off the tendon
friction massage and ultrasound to stimulate tendon healing
strengthening exercises to build strength in the tendon as it heals
How Long Does It Take For Medial Epicondylitis To Heal?
This can vary depending on the degree to which the tendon is damaged, but in most cases once appropriate treatment has commenced the tendon should heal within 2-3 months. If left untreated then this can be a problem that can linger on, especially if the aggravating factors have not be eliminated.
What Exercise Can I Do For Golfers Elbow?
A good exercise to start with is a stretch for the wrist flexor muscles on the underside of the forearm. Tightness in these muscles are usually one of the reasons that the golfers elbow has started. You can do this stretch by:
hold the affected arm out in front with the elbow straight and palm facing upwards
use your other hand to stretch the fingers and hand downwards so that you feel a stretch on the forearm muscles
hold this for 30 seconds and repeat regularly throughout the day.
What Will A Physio Do?
A physiotherapist will diagnose your golfers elbow and also figure out the key factors that has caused the problem to occur. From this a problem list will be drawn up of the things that need to be treated in order for the issue to recover in the quickest way possible. Direct treatment to the tendon will encourage healing, muscle release and exercise will take pressure off the tendon and help with strengthening, and other contributing factors such as posture and poor technique will be assessed and altered accordingly. When all of these things are addressed, the golfers elbow will recover well.