Necessary Measures to Prevent Golfer’s Elbow

Elbow Pain

Your elbow lets you swing, throw and lift. You can easily do all these activities as this is not just a simple joint. And that suggests that from sports injuries to elbow, there are a lot of reasons for which the things can go wrong. Do you have pain in your elbow area? Are you unable to play the shot while playing golf? If yes, it will be better for you to consult with a doctor and seek necessary treatment as it can be a golfer’s elbow condition. There are generally two major health condition a golfer can get:

• Golfer’s Elbow (Medial Epicondylitis).
• Tennis Elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis).

There are a lot of reasons which can develop pain in your elbow. But before going through any treatment, you need to understand in detail about the condition, its symptoms, and causes. So that you can easily explain to your doctor about the condition. This article will help you to gain detail knowledge about the Elbow pain causes and how you can avoid or treat it.

What is Golfer’s Pain?

A golfer can easily develop pain and injuries through overuse of particular muscles and movements. The most common injury that golfers face is known as golfer’s elbow. This generally occurs when there is an injury to tendons, ligaments, and muscles near the forearm or elbow. Small wear and tear in the muscle and tendon limit the functionality of the elbow and forearm. This can cause terrible pain when playing golf.

The elbow joint formed where three bones come together, i.e., the upper arm bone (the humerus), the ulna and the radius. Each bone comes with cartilage located on end. This helps them slide against each other, and they absorb shocks. Besides, they are whipped into the place with tough tissues known as a ligament. The tendons connect the bones to muscles, enabling you to move your arm in different ways. If anything happens to these parts, the nerves and or even to blood vessels located near the area can develop pain. The treatments for elbow pain include rehab and correction of playing techniques.

Elbow Pain while Playing Golf

Are you hesitating to swing hard fearing elbow pain? As a fact, the elbow pain while playing golf is extremely common. You are not alone who are suffering from such a condition. Many golfers have golfer’s elbow.[1]

How does it Create Pain in the Elbow While Playing Golf?

Golfing is just like other types of rotational sports. So, it can lead you to high risk for overuse of repetitive movement. The poor golfing mechanism can greatly boost the process, increasing the pain level. When the flexor tendons get damaged due to overuse and scar tissue formation, they are easily reinjured. In the arm elbow, impact with the ball or ground develops a quick yank on the tendon, which causes irritation and tears in the muscles. Have you ever thought how many swings do you normally make while playing the golf? If not, then be careful about this as it can faster the process.

Symptoms of Golfer’s Elbow Pain

It is characterized in the following ways:

Pain and tenderness

You will feel pain on the inner side of your elbow. The pain can extend along the inner side of your forearm. There is a certain movement which can worsen the condition. So, you need to be very careful about Elbow pain causes, to avoid such condition.

Stiffness

You will feel stiffness in the joint of the elbow, and you may feel pain while making a fist.

Weakness

You may suffer from weakness in your hands and the wrists.

Numbness or tingling

Such types of sensations can radiate into one or more fingers. Generally, it affects the ring and little fingers.

The pain can arise suddenly or gradually. The pain might worsen with some specific movements, for example, swinging a golf club.[2]

Some Golf Swing Mechanics that can Cause Elbow Pain

Such a condition is quite common among the golfer who prematurely releases the wrists while performing a downswing. The swing fault has some names, such as:

• Early release.
• Casting.
• Scooping.

A report published in 2009 shows that around 56% of new golf players have this issue. The swing fault can arise in a different way. Trying to lift the golf ball?  This is something that you need to think about. Remember that the golf clubs are there to do this job. Let the clubs do their job.

• Are you always over the top?
• Is the clubface frequently open at impact?

These can be some reasons for overusing the wrists which can lead to golfer’s elbow.

When to Visit or Consult a Doctor?

You need to consult with the doctor if rest, ice and over-the-counter painkillers don’t lower the elbow pain and stiffness. Go to your doctor if:

• The elbow is hot and inflamed, and if you have a fever.
• If you are unable to bend your elbow flexible.
• When your elbow looks deformed.  
• If you think you have a broken bone.

Causes of Elbow Pain

Golfer's elbow generally caused by damage or injury to the muscles or tendons which control the wrist and fingers. The damage is generally related to excess or repeated stress, such as forceful finger and wrist movements. Sometimes, improper hitting, throwing or lifting of objects, too little warmup and poor conditioning can cause pain in the elbow.

However, besides golf, there is a lot of activities which can be treated as major elbow pain causes. These are:

Racket sports

Improper technique while playing tennis strokes, especially the backhand stroke, can damage or injure the tendon. Excessive use of topspin and using a small or heavy racket can lead to injury.

Throwing sports

Improper pitching methods in baseball or softball can cause elbow pain. Besides this, javelin throwing, archery, and football can also cause pain.

Doing excessive weight training

If you are lifting weights the wrong way, curling the wrists during a biceps exercise, can put excessive stress on the elbow muscles and tendons. This generally occurs in the field of construction, carpentry, and plumbing.

To cause the pain, the activity generally needs to be carried out for more than one hour in a day on many days.

How to Rehab the Condition of Golfer’s Elbow?

Elbow pain while playing golf caused by Medial Epicondylitis it not that much of hard to rehab. When it comes to the treatments for elbow pain, you can easily find a lot of treatment option. However, before going into this, you need to think about the following things:

• Be willing not to play golf while treating the condition.
• You should utilize one or more treatments recommended by the doctors mentioned in below.
• Keep up with your rehab goal to make your elbow muscle and tendon stronger.
• You must have the ability to learn lessons.

If you can stick with the four things mentioned above, you will get a 90% result in just one month. One such exercise is an isometric exercise, which is treated as an entry level exercise.You can also try elbow braces specially designed for golfer's elbow pain. Using an elbow brace can increase the blood circulation and relieves you from pain.

Some other ways to prevent the condition are:

Strengthen the forearm muscles

For this, you can use light weights or squeeze a stress or tennis ball. In fact, by doing some simple exercise, you can strengthen your muscles and can enhance their ability to absorb energy produced during sudden physical stress.[3]

Stretch your body well before doing any activity

To stretch your body, you can walk or do jog for two to three minutes. After the warm-up, do some stretching before starting your game.

Rectify your posture and form

No matter what kind of sports you are playing, ask your instructor to evaluate your form and position. Make sure you are not putting excessive stress on your muscles.

Use the right equipment

By using  the wrong equipment, you can put stress on the elbow muscles. If you are using older golfing irons, it will be better for you to upgrade the equipment. You can use graphite clubs which is quite lighter than the golf iron club. If you are a tennis player, make sure your racket is in perfect condition and fits you perfectly. If the racket has a small grip and a heavy head it may increase the chance of elbow problems.

Lift the item in a proper way

While lifting any items, keep the wrist rigid and stable. By doing this you can lower the force on your elbow.

All you need to know when to rest and always try not to put extra stress on your elbow. If the pain is unbearable for you, visit your doctor to treat the condition.

References

1..https://www.p2sportscare.com/elbow-pain-golfing/

2..https://mydoctor.kaiserpermanente.org/ncal/Images/elbow_pain_tcm75-674465.pdf

3..https://www.massgeneral.org/ortho-sports-medicine/conditions-treatments/pdfs/Medial%20epicondylitis%20%28Golfer%20elbow%29%20rehabilitation.pdf