Golfers' elbow: symptoms, treatment, exercises. How do you recognise it?

Even if Tiger Woods is not your idol, you can develop golfer's elbow. And you'll find out soon enough, because the ailment is quite painful.

You could say that golfer's elbow is such a rare twin brother of tennis elbow. Both conditions are tendinopathies, i.e. lesions of the tendons, which may be accompanied by inflammation during exacerbations. However, there are several characteristic differences between the two.

See also:

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• tennis elbow
• Best collagen for tennis elbow
• Best collagen for tendons
• Best collagen for joints
• Best collagen for bones
• Collagen for athletes
• Collagen for runners
• Grandmother's ways for joints

What is golfer's elbow?

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Golfer's elbow, sometimes also called baseballer's elbow is enthesopathy of the medial epicondyle of the humerus. The condition involves degradation of collagen fibres at the attachment site of the muscles responsible for wrist movement to the humerus (specifically the medial epicondyle)and.

In golfer's elbow it is characteristic that the lesions (and therefore the pain) involve the wrist flexor muscles running on the inside of the forearm .

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In the affected area, chronic inflammation can form and blood vessels and nerve tissue can proliferate, causing additional tenderness and pain in the elbow .

Causes of golfer's elbow

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The cause of golfer's elbow is prolonged exposure to monotonous, rotational movements of the wrist and forearm, such as when driving screws or hitting with a golf club. However, according to research, 90% of cases of this ailment do not affect athletes at alland.

In fact, this ailment often affects people who play golf, baseball, squash, badminton or tennis - especially those who have not yet mastered correct hitting technique.

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But overloading the wrist flexor muscle attachments can also happen to fitters, mechanics, dentists, carpenters and even... office workers. That's right - sitting at a desk can also result in a real sports injury. That's why it's worth taking care ergonomics of your working environment in advance.

What you can do to take care of your body at office work:

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• Most office chairs are height and back tilt adjustable. Adjust them so that when you sit, your elbows rest against the desk bent at 90° and your shoulders are loosely lowered.
• Consider using a chair with a backrest.
• Consider using special silicone wrist pads, especially if you do a lot of typing.
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• Experts also recommend the use of vertical computer mice, which allow you to maintain a more natural wrist position.
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• Figure out and take breaks. It may sound rather strange and certainly wouldn't appeal to your primary school teacher, but experts say that staying in one position for long periods of time is the worst thing you can do for your spine and entire musculoskeletal system. You don't have to sit upright as a string for eight hours. Just change your body position frequently.

There are also circumstances conducive to golfer's elbow. Risk of medial epicondyle enthesopathy increases in peopleand:

• youth,
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• smokers,
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• suffering from diabetes,
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Symptoms of golfer's elbow

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The symptoms of golfer's elbow are pain and tenderness on the inside of the elbow joint radiating along the entire forearm, up to the wrist and even the 4th and 5th fingers of the hand. In addition, there may be stiffness of the joint, swelling, weakness of grip strength and tingling and numbness of the handand.

Pain leads to reduced mobility of the affected limb, as well as emerging inflammation, which exacerbates all symptoms.

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Pain most often occurs with activities that require rotation of the wrist and forearm with additional resistance. It sounds quite complicated, but these will include, for example:

• shaking hands to greet someone,
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• lifting shopping nets,
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• washing windows or mirrors,
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In the first stage of development of golfer's elbow, pain may only occur at the beginning of movement. Later, as the condition progresses, it may accompany you throughout the activityand.

Golfer's elbow versus tennis elbow

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Both conditions are very similar to each other. From a medical perspective, they differ in that golfer's elbow involves the muscle attachment pronators of the wrist, while tennis elbow involves the muscle attachment pronators of the wristand.

What does this mean for you? It is that with golfer's elbow there is pain on the internal side of the elbow, and with tennis elbow on the external side. It is also worth mentioning that golfer's elbow is a much rarer ailmentand.

See how the two conditions differand:

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Golfer's elbow test

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To diagnose golfer's elbow, you need to visit an orthopaedist. Only a doctor is able to make a clear and certain diagnosis and recommend effective treatment. It is worth remembering that there are many diseases that can give very similar symptoms and only a specialist will be able to refer you to the appropriate tests to confirm or rule them out.

The basic tests for golfer's elbow performed by an orthopaedic surgeon during a manual examination are the reverse Cozen test and the golfer's elbow symptom testand.

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To perform the golfer's elbow symptom test:

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1. Stand in a relaxed position. The specialist will grasp your elbow so that his/her fingers are at the level of the medial epicondyle of the humerus.
2. Take the elbow.
3. Bend your arm at the elbow and perform a rotation so that the inside of your hand faces the ceiling.
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4. The specialist will now drive your fingers downwards, causing a dorsal wrist flexion.
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5. While keeping your hand in this position, the specialist will straighten your hand at the elbow joint.
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The reverse Cozen test is very similar to the above, except that you start with your arm straight and the specialist will bend it at the elbow joint, keeping the wrist in dorsiflexion. The reverse Cozen test is most likely to be performed, as a natural follow-up to the golfer's elbow symptom test.

Both tests will come out positive if you feel a stabbing pain on the inside of your elbow when straightening or bending your arm.

Medical practitioner Kacper Nihalani talks about another method, the Polk test, which helps distinguish between tennis elbow and golfer's elbow:

"The patient picks up any object weighing 2-3kg. He sits down with it and flexes his elbow slightly. He performs pronation with the hand holding the object (pronation is the movement of turning the hand with the back of the hand upwards). He then bends his elbow to raise his arm. During this action, the arm remains motionless.

If the patient feels pain on the outside of the elbow when flexing the arm, this suggests the pathology of tennis elbow.

When golfer's elbow is suspected, the patient takes an object in the same way and sits down. This time he or she flexes the elbow, but the hand is in a supinated position (the movement of turning the palm of the hand upwards). If the soreness is on the inner side - we are dealing with golfer's elbow pathology".

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Treatment of golfer's elbow

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Treatment of golfer's elbow includes the use of painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs and a break from the activity that led to the condition. The muscle attachments can also be relieved by using elbow orthoses and stabilisers. Cryotherapy, shockwave and iontophoresis treatments, as well as appropriate exercises, are also helpful.

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The primary and most important treatment for golfer's elbow is to stop doing the activity that caused the enthesopathyand. If it was sports training, be sure to discontinue it for the time indicated by your doctor. If it was caused by your work, a specialist may issue you with a medical leave of absence so that the muscle attachments have time to regenerate and rest.

Bead ointments and medicines

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Golfer's elbow ointments and oral medications have analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects. They will help you relieve the symptoms of the condition and make daily life easier, but they do not cure the conditionand.

Effective treatment should target the causes, not just mask bothersome symptoms. Keep this in mind when ingesting your next pain pill. Ointments and oral medications for golfer's elbow should be used as an adjunct, not as the only remedy.

What else can work to help?

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The role of collagen in the functioning of the musculoskeletal system has long been known. For muscle attachments (i.e. tendons), the most important are collagen type I and type III. Supplementation of the youth protein can help you regenerate your elbow joint and reduce its stiffness.

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Stabilisers, bands and orthoses

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Suitable stabilisers for the elbow joint are designed to relieve pressure on the wrist flexor muscle attachments, which both facilitates healing and can reduce pain.

It is important to choose bands specifically designed to support the elbow joint in golfer's elbow, i.e. thin orthoses that only cover the top of the forearm, rather than sleeves that stabilise the entire elbow joint (these will be of no use here).

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Such bands can also be used preventively (prophylactically) - for example, if your occupation increases the risk of contracting this condition, or you have already suffered from golfer's elbow in the past and want to avoid a recurrence.

Taping for golfer's elbow

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Kinesiotaping, known as taping for short, involves applying special tapes along the muscle fibres when they are stretched to their maximum. This reduces muscle tension, which can bring pain relief.

However, unlike orthoses, taping for tennis elbow will not relieve muscle strain and will not cure the ailment. However, it can be used successfully as an adjunctive technique.

Physiotherapy

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Physiotherapy is currently one of the most effective treatments for golfer's elbow. Its scope encompasses both a well-chosen programme of exercises and rehabilitation treatments. According to research, the best results are obtained with a combination of exercises performed by the patient and treatment methodsand.

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The most effective treatments for golfer's elbow areand:

• dry needling,
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• shockwave,
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• electrical stimulation,
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• ionophoresis,
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• phonophoresis,
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• manipulative techniques (massage),
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Exercises for golfer's elbow

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The simple exercises outlined below are recommended by specialists for both the treatment and prevention of golfer's elbow. Remember, however, that if you suffer from enthesopathy of the medial epicondyle of the humerus, a physiotherapist will select an individual exercise programme for you.

These are 5 simple exercises for golfer's elbow:

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1. Squeeze ball. Sit in a comfortable position and position your arm so that it is bent at the elbow at a 90° angle. Take a soft ball the size of a tennis ball and crush it in your hand, stopping when your fingers are clenched on it. Then slowly loosen the grip. Do 2-3 series of 10-15 repetitions.
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2. Wrist muscle stretch. Extend your straight arm out in front of you. With your other hand, point the fingers of your palm upwards so that your wrist bends. Press gently on your fingers, making sure your elbow joint remains straight - until you feel a slight pull on your muscles. Hold this position for about 20 seconds. Perform 5 repetitions.
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3. Automassage. Sit so that your arm is bent at the elbow at a 90° angle. With your other hand, grasp your forearm from underneath just at the elbow. Try to locate the most painful area with your thumb. Press lightly on it and make lateral movements for 3-5 minutes.
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4. Rolling. If you have a roller (preferably a flat roller without tabs), you can roll the wrist muscles with it for a few minutes. Run the roller along the muscles - from the wrist to the elbow and back again. Try to make sure that the pressure of the roller is equal along the entire length of the muscles.
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5. Exercises with weights. You will need a weight for this - start with the lightest one (0.5kg) and then gradually increase the load. Sit at a table so that your arm is bent at a right angle and your wrist is behind the edge of the tabletop. Grasp the weight with an underhand grip - the inside of your hand should be facing upwards. Slowly and actively (using your muscles, not gravity) lower the weight downwards. With the help of your other hand, pull it back up. The exercise is to concentrate only on lowering the weight.
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What are the risks of untreated golfer's elbow?

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Untreated golfer's elbow can lead to permanent changes in the tendon structure of the wrist flexor muscle attachment and degradation of the joint surfaces. In extreme cases, this can lead to a reduction or loss of function in the affected hand. The pain will worsen and make daily functioning increasingly difficultand.

See also:

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• Knee pain - causes and treatment
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• Home remedies for sore knees
• Knee crunching and shooting
• Gonarthrosis
• Compaction

Summary

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