Golfer’s Elbow Diagnosis and Treatment is on the minds of many people at this time of year.  We see patients with questions about this at Anderson Peak Performance. Some feel a radiating pain in the elbow and a weakness in the forearm.  Some feel stiffness, numbness or tingling.  Golfer’s elbow (medial epicondylitis) refers to the side of your arm that is closest to your body and is generally caused by the repetitive motion of your golf swing.

The tendons  in your elbow area are affected by age, repetitive motion, poor posture and bad form.  Many times the pain is caused by tendinitis, an inflammation of the tendons.  This is can be treated by Chiropractic adjustments to the elbow/extremity in question and physiotherapy modalities such as ultrasound or a cold laser.  Soft tissue techniques like Graston or ART can also be helpful in your pathway to recovery.   At home recommendations are for ice and rehabilitative exercises.

Sometimes the pain is caused by tendinosis, a degeneration of the tendons (caused by age) or an actual tear.  If the pain persists for more than a few week s it is best that you seek a doctors’ assessment.  In rare cases, the pain may be caused by a rheumatic condition and a doctor can help you determine the differences.

The day that you feel the pain on the golf course is a good time to ask your golf pro to check your form.  Gripping the club too tightly or swinging off form can cause Golfer’s Elbow.  A remedy for tight grip is to tape the grip or replace it with an over sized grip pad.

There are many strengthening and flexibility exercises to help the affected muscles and tendons.  By creating a strong foundation in your arms you are supporting your elbows and helping to ease the pain.  You can start as simply as squeezing a tennis ball as hard as possible and letting go.  Do this 15 to 20 times.  You can try the “rubber band trick”.  Place a rubber band around all of your fingers and open and close them 20 times.

You can try this exercise.  Sit down on a chair with your feet on the floor.  Rest your arm across your thigh with a 1 to 5 pound dumbbell in your hand facing up.  Rotate until your hand is facing down.  Do this 20 times.

When you are feeling better,  you can start to practice swinging your club with perfect form and see how you feel.  Most people who are proactive with conservative treatment and rehab exercises  tend to get back on the course quickly.  If you power through the pain or ignore it, you may end up with less range of motion or chronic pain.  Chiropractic can help improve your flexibility, stretchability, balance and Range of Motion…this translates into a more efficient swing that lets the ball travel farther so you can up your yardage and decrease your score.  Practicing form and function while taking care of yourself is the straightest path back to the sunny golf course.

Enjoy your round,

Dr. A