Golfer’s Elbow
By Physiotherapist Olivia Hewitt
Golfer’s elbow, also known as Medial Epicondylitis is a common condition in golfers, or throwing sports such as baseball. It is characterised by pain on the inside of your elbow and forearm.
Golfer’s elbow is common in different sporting populations, including golf, hence the name, but also throwing sports such as baseball and softball. Throwing athletes especially notice symptoms during the late cocking phase and acceleration phase of throwing. Additionally, it can occur in people who lift weights with incorrect form, flexing their wrists, or in trade fields where people are using their forearm muscles regularly.
Anatomy of the Golfer’s Elbow:
Golfer’s elbow is a condition affecting the wrist flexor tendon. You have many wrist flexor muscles that attach at the elbow and run down your forearm to the palmer surface of your wrist. The wrist flexor muscles join up to a common tendon which attaches to the medial epicondyle of the elbow. This is the bony prominence on the inside of your elbow.
What causes Golfer’s elbow?
Golfer’s elbow is caused by an overload of your wrist flexor muscles. This can lead to changes to the properties of the wrist flexor tendon which attaches these muscles to the medial epicondyle. If left untreated degeneration of the tendon can occur, leading to worsening symptoms.
Symptoms of Golfers Elbow:
Golfers elbow is characterised by a number of signs and symptoms. Pain is usual on the inside of the elbow and is of a gradual onset, usually after an unexpected increase in load through the wrist flexor tendon.
Some common symptoms are outlined below:
- Medial-sided elbow pain (inside of your elbow) at the medial epicondyle.
- Radiating pain into forearm.
- Pain in the late cocking phase or acceleration phase of throwing
- Pain with resisted wrist flexion.
- Decreased grip strength
Assessment of Golfers Elbow:
It is a great idea to see a health professional such as a Physiotherapist or Osteopath if you think you may have golfer’s elbow so you can get the correct diagnosis and treatment to prevent it from becoming a chronic issue. A number of assessments can be performed to see if you may have the condition. Your practitioner will assess the strength of the forearm muscles, and determine if any movements reproduce pain. Pain is often experienced on the medial elbow with resisted wrist flexion in people with golfer’s elbow. Grip strength may be assessed and compared to the other side to see if there is any strength deficits as a result of the condition. Your practitioner will also palpate around the medial epicondyle, the bony aspect on the inside of the elbow to feel for any tenderness. It is also common for tenderness to be felt throughout the forearm muscles.
Treatment of Golfers Elbow:
There are a number of different treatment options for golfer’s elbow. The most common of these is a home exercise program. Firstly, any aggravating activities should be ceased to help reduce any irritation. A home strengthening program can be tailored based on any deficits found in the assessment. Often this program will involve wrist flexor strengthening with light weights or a theraband.
Practitioners can also do a number of hands-on treatments to help reduce pain in golfer’s elbow patients. This can include soft tissue massage work on the forearm flexor muscles or dry needling.
Shockwave therapy is another treatment option for chronic golfer’s elbow. Shockwave therapy has been shown to have great success in tendinopathies such as tennis and golfer’s elbow. Shockwave therapy is a handheld machine that is placed on the skin of the injured area and delivers shock wave pulses to the injured site. This treatment has a pain-relieving effect as it overstimulates the nerves in the area which decrease the ability for pain signals to be sent to the brain. It also works to help promote tissue healing. Most people find results within 3-8 treatments when used in conjunction with a home exercise program. You can read more about shockwave in our shockwave blog.
Other health professionals can help manage and reduce the symptoms of golfer’s elbow. Doctors may offer a brace to reduce strain on the wrist flexor tendon. Additionally, anti-inflammatory medication may be prescribed by your doctor to help reduce inflammation and pain.
Through the many treatment options and combinations available, golfer’s elbow is not a pain that needs to be ongoing and left untreated. If you are experiencing any of the symptoms outlined, it is a great idea to book in with one of our Osteopaths or Physiotherapists for an assessment and treatment.
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