Is your elbow pain getting in the way of your golf game?
Medial epicondyloitis, more commonly known as ‘golfers elbow’, or ‘pitchers elbow’ is an overuse injury to the common flexor tendon origin on the inside of your elbow. Despite the name, 90% of cases are not related to sport. This is seen in occupations such as carpenters and builders that require repetitive gripping and twisting. Golfer's elbow is commonly due to a sudden increase in the load placed on tendons of your elbow. For example, starting a home renovation project requiring use of power tools, or getting back into golfing. Initially there may be some inflammation in the area, but the condition itself is not inflammatory. Essentially the load placed on the tendon is greater than its ability to repair itself, leading to pain and irritation.
If you have had elbow pain for a long period of time, there may be some degenerative changes to the tendon itself. These changes are due to the body’s inability to complete the repair process leading to breakdown of the tendon.
Symptoms may include:
Pain to touch the inside of the elbow
Pain with gripping, throwing, resisted wrist flexion or pronation. Will relieve once activity ceases.
Reduced grip strength
Pain to stretch the muscles on the inside of your forearm.
Occasionally, weakness/tingling on inside of forearm into the pinky finger.
What should I do if I have golfer's elbow?
Initially, taking a break from activities that aggravate the elbow will be important. Massage into the elbow flexors, tape, or an elbow brace may be useful initially. When able to, reloading the elbow through strengthening exercises will be essential to strengthen the tendon to be able to withstand the demands of your daily activities. Because everybody has a different baseline, and different activities they will want to return to, a tailored rehab program will be important for success. Finally, a maintenance program is important to prevent reoccurrence.
Your physiotherapist can assist in rehabilitation through getting a detailed description of your symptoms and activities you enjoy doing. A thorough assessment of the arm and neck will be done to determine where the pain is coming from. Occationally, pain can be referred from higher up in the neck. Hands on therapy including manual therapy, acupuncture, and taping can be useful as well as advice and education on activity modification to settle the pain. Once able, a progressive strengthening program will be in place to improve tolerance to that tendon as pain and strength allows. Because this condition is a tendinopathy, and not a tear, the only way to return the tendon to normal function is through strengthening.
If you are struggling with golfers elbow and seeing assistance, please get in touch with us!
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