Golfer and Tennis Elbow

This week's blog post is brought to you by Dr. Keven Hagen. Dr. Keven is a sports chiropractor practicing in Rochester, NY. To learn more about his practice, check out his website. 

chiropractor golf tennis elbow

Elbow pain is all to common for most competitors. The feared golfers elbow, or the irritating tennis elbow tend to show up in all sports, not just golf and tennis. The elbow is commonly injured by repetitive movement or prolonged positioning, rather than a traumatic event. Most people think it will never happen to them, but if it does it can be very debilitating.

EPICONDYLITIS

The translation of epicondylitis is “inflammation of the epicondyle,” which translates to inflammation of the elbow tendons. There are medial (inside) and lateral (outside) tendons in the elbow that can become inflamed fairly easily.  The medial are generally called golfers elbow and the lateral are generally called tennis elbow, even though some literature has the opposite. Golfers are prone to tennis elbow, and tennis players are prone to golfers elbow. It just happens to be more prevalent within the sport. Repetitive overuse such as typing on a computer, manual labor, gardening, golf, tennis or any activity that requires repetitive hand and wrist movement can cause epicondylitis.

SYMPTOMS AND CAUSES


Lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow) can be described as an ache which gets more severe with activities involving an open hand or extending your wrist. Medial epicondylitis, (golfers elbow) is generally described as an ache and gets more severe with activities that require a fist to be made.

Both are generally sore to the touch and can progress to a deep stiffness. It is not uncommon for grip strength to be decreased if left untreated.

CHIROPRACTIC APPROACH

By performing muscle release techniques, electrical stimulation, or various other modalities, we are able to have the inflammation relax, restoring normal function. We will provide you with home stretches to help eliminate future flair ups.

There is no need to live with insistent, irritating elbow pain. Call us today!