Whether you spend your weekends on the links or you’ve developed pain in the inside of your elbow due to other activities, golfer’s elbow can be a painful condition to manage. Luckily, there are several treatment options and at-home techniques that can help relieve the discomfort.
As experts in sports medicine, the team here at Genesis Orthopaedic and Spine understands all too well the pain and limitations that come with golfer’s elbow, and we’re here to help.
In the following, we take a deeper dive into golfer’s elbow, including a review of your treatment options, as well as practices you can do on your own to keep you swinging.
Golfer’s elbow at a glance
Medically known as medial epicondylitis, golfer’s elbow is a condition in which you develop painful inflammation in the tendons that attach the muscles in your forearm to the inside of your elbow. While you may experience pain in your elbow, the problem develops when you overstress the muscles and tendons in your forearm and wrists.
The reason this condition is called golfer’s elbow is that golfers are more likely to stress the connective tissues in their forearms when clenching a golf club while hitting a ball. That said, golfer’s elbow can crop up anytime you overuse these same muscles and tendons.
Aside from pain in your elbow, you may experience pain that radiates down to your wrist. This pain can come and go and may flare up with certain movements, such as making a fist.
Other symptoms of golfer’s elbow include:
- Tingling and numbness in your fingers, typically your ring finger and pinkie
- Weakness in your hands and wrists
- Stiffness in your elbow
- Tenderness on the inside of your elbow
Now that we better understand the problem, let’s take a look at how we can relieve the discomfort that comes with golfer’s elbow.
Treatment options for golfer’s elbow
At our practice, we believe in treatments that don’t just address the symptoms, but tackle the underlying tissue damage. To that end, we offer:
These therapies not only relieve the pain and inflammation in your elbow and forearm, they also encourage healing and repair of the tissues. In fact, through our regenerative medicine therapies (PRP and Lipogems), our goal is to help strengthen your muscles and tendons by encouraging cell renewal using your own natural resources.
Managing golfer’s elbow on your own
While we can do our part to help relieve the pain and inflammation of your golfer’s elbow, there’s much you can do on your own, such as:
- Resting your elbow
- Strengthening your forearm muscles with gripping exercises (with a tennis ball)
- Stretching the muscles in your wrist and forearm
One of the best things you can do for golfer’s elbow is to know when to give it a rest. If you start to feel some pain, take a break for a little bit — we promise you, the golf course isn’t going anywhere!
If you’re struggling with golfer’s elbow, contact our office in Westfield, New Jersey, to explore your treatment options.
