How To Fix Golfer’s Elbow

Elbow pain can stop you from doing the things you love.

Here’s how to fix golfer’s elbow without invasive surgery or side effects.

 

Despite the name, golfer’s elbow isn’t limited to Master’s winners, caddies, or golf enthusiasts. In fact, this debilitating condition often develops from a number of repetitive activities—from swinging a golf club to lifting a suitcase.

Sufferers typically treat their symptoms with pain relievers and ice packs, but there’s a better way: chiropractic care.

Let’s take a closer look at golfer’s elbow to help you understand what it is and how to treat it effectively.

What Is Golfer’s Elbow?

You may already be familiar with tennis elbow, which occurs when the tendon (tissue that connects muscles to bones) on the outside of your elbow becomes inflamed. Golfer’s elbow—sometimes known as pitcher’s elbow, baseball elbow, or even forehand tennis elbow—is characterized by damage to the tendon on the inside of your elbow joint.

This condition is also known as medial epicondylitis, because the tendon is attached to the medial epicondyle, the bony “bump” on the inside of your elbow.

Golfer’s elbow is an overuse injury caused by excessive repetitive motions or poor form when using the forearm muscles.

It isn’t only golfers who develop golfer’s elbow. Baseball and tennis players, for instance, may experience this condition after swinging a bat or racket. Even non-athletes may develop golfer’s elbow from chopping wood, using certain power tools, or weight training.

Golfer’s Elbow Symptoms

The most common symptom of golfer’s elbow is pain, which is typically felt along the forearm on the same side as your pinky. This pain is likely worse when bending the wrist toward the palm or when squeezing an object in your fist.

You may also feel stiffness, weakness, numbness, or tingling in the forearms, wrist, and/or hands.

Golfer’s Elbow Treatment

Treating golfer’s elbow typically involves anti-inflammatory medications and ice packs to reduce inflammation and relieve pain. Your doctor may also recommend wearing a brace to stabilize the area and prevent further damage to the area.

More severe cases may require physical therapy, medical massage, or even surgery. However, there’s a much less invasive way to treat golfer’s elbow.

Chiropractor For Golfer’s Elbow

As it turns out, chiropractors aren’t just for back pain.

Chiropractic care is considered a holistic approach, which means that it looks at the body as a whole. During your adjustments, your chiropractor will evaluate your wrist and forearm, but they may also look at your shoulder, neck, and spine as well.

By bringing the joints in your arm back to their proper alignment, chiropractors allow your body to heal itself. In addition to reduced pain, you may even find that your range of motion has improved! Chiropractic is also helpful at preventing sports injury.

Preventing Golfer’s Elbow

As much as we love to help patients recover from pain and other symptoms, we much prefer when you can prevent injury entirely.

To reduce your risk of golfer’s elbow, stretching and strengthening your forearms can reduce the risk of damage due to overuse. Performing certain golfer’s elbow stretches and exercises can help you recover from or even prevent injuries.

Novices are more likely to develop golfer’s elbow, so make sure you are using good form and proper equipment when playing sports or using tools. Equipment should be the right size and weight, so as not to strain your muscles and tendons.

Finally, listen to your body and rest whenever needed. Pain and exhaustion are the body’s way of alerting you to an injury (or potential injury). Pushing through the pain might feel like dedication to your sport, but it’s really a fast track to injury.

 

Conclusion

No matter your favorite sport, occasional injury is always a risk. But you don’t have to let pain stop you from doing what you love.

At Oviedo Chiropractic, we pride ourselves on providing state-of-the-art chiropractic care. We offer on-site X-rays to aid in diagnosis and perform adjustments and medical massage at our office, conveniently located off 417 in Oviedo.

Schedule an appointment today to see how we can help you get back on the green.