The elbow is the joint that connects the forearm and arm. It consists of three joints connected by ligaments and surrounded by a capsule and joint pouch. Tendons are connectors of muscles to the joints.
The golfer’s elbow appears from the inside of the elbow. It comes as damage to the tendons, which connect forearm muscles to the bony bump. Damage can be like small tears of the tendons or inner elbow inflammation because of many different factors, which we describe later.
Occurrence
Anything that irritates the tendon in the elbow joint will cause inflammation. That inflammation can cause pain in the elbow, forearm, and wrist. The main reasons for the golfer's elbow are micro traumas and tiny tears in tendons.
The golfer's elbow is called medial epicondylitis. Tiny tears and inflammation affect the medial epicondyle of the elbow joint. Golfer's elbow (medial epicondylitis) is five times more common than tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis).
The main function of the arm is to squeeze and bend the wrist. Depending on whether you are right-handed or left-handed, the dominant arm will have a greater load. Overloading arm muscles causes elbow pain. It can also lead to inflammation and short tears at the junction of arm muscles.
The main symptom is inner-side elbow pain. It is caused by overloading the muscles of the arm. The pain of medial epicondylitis is either constant, even at night, or only with specific loads on the arm.
Symptoms of golfer’s elbow:
Inner elbow pain. It can be dull or aching pain.
You can feel numbness and tingling of the ring and little fingers of the wrist.
The pain can irritate the forearm to the wrist.
The pain occurs with certain movements, like flexion and extension of the elbow, when squeezing or lifting objects.
Sometimes, the patient can feel weakness in the arm when trying to pick up or grab something. It causes sharp pain in the forearm and weakens tendon tissue.
The risk for developing a golfer's elbow:
The most popular causes to develop golfer's elbow include:
Improper technique during exercises raises the risk of a golfer’s elbow.
Tennis and golfer’s elbow diseases are standard in sports medicine. The tennis elbow is also known as lateral epicondylitis. The main difference is that the tennis elbow pain affects the outside of the elbow, and the golfer’s elbow pain affects the inside of the elbow.
Treatment
Conservative treatment of a golfer's elbow includes a lot of procedures and shows the result of healing 90%. We will cover the most common.
First, use an ice pack to reduce inflammation and limit active arm tension.
After a physical exam, a sports medicine specialist may prescribe light physical therapy. It's a complex of gentle stretches of the forearm muscles to strengthen the hand.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, which can promote healing and reduce pain in the elbow and wrist.
Use a bandage to prevent golfer's elbow. It is placed on the posterior muscles of the forearm and below the elbow. It will support the hand and relieve tension in the tendons.
The treating golfer's elbow uses shock-wave therapy.
If you want to decrease developing golfer's elbow and get faster recovery, do not hesitate to get a doctor's prescription. Your health and its quality are in your hands.
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