For those that participate in activities that involve swinging a racquet or club, tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow are all too well known. But what exactly are these conditions, and what causes them to happen? Golfer’s elbow is a common cause of pain on the inner elbow, and tennis elbow causes pain on the outside of the elbow. Both of these are considered to be overuse injuries. The two conditions involve repetitive irritation to soft tissue, close to where this tissue connects to bone.
A big part of improving these two causes of elbow pain involves restoring any loss of elbow motion and restoring normal extensibility of the affected muscle and tendon. However, these methods will only begin to address the symptoms themselves - the most critical component of treatment involves finding what caused the symptoms to occur in the first place.
The underlying cause of tennis and golfer’s elbow may vary from one person to the next, but this is critical to determine to ensure that symptoms go away as quickly as possible and ideally do not return.
So, what are the possibilities? 1. Tightness Somewhere Else:
Imagine, for a moment, that you’re playing a game of golf. You’re getting ready to extend back and swing your club, but your back and hips are stiff! The human body is fantastic at finding creative solutions, so you still manage to get your swing in, but you do so by overusing your arms to make up for that lack of motion elsewhere. One swing isn’t typically a problem, but over time, this can lead to problems such as Golfer’s elbow further down the road.
2. Bad Body Mechanics/Posture:
There are many ways in which bad body mechanics and form can present. Bad posture causes us to have less use of the muscles closer to our torso, meaning that joints further away from our body have to work harder than they should.
3. Training Issues:
When we take on a new sport, it’s easy to go gung ho on it! Practice makes
perfect, and this leads many people to participate in new sports endeavors such as pickleball or golf on a near daily basis, leaving little time for our bodies to acclimate to the new activity. When the demand placed on working muscle exceeds its current capability, issues such as tennis or golfer’s elbow can be the result.
4. Muscle Weakness Elsewhere:
If you have weakness elsewhere in your upper body, such as around your shoulder, shoulder blade, or wrists, this can also lead to overuse of the elbow. When participating in large movements such as swinging a club or hitting a ball, our muscles need to be able to coordinate strongly and smoothly with one another.
While this list is not exhaustive, these are four of the common underlying issues that can contribute to the development of golfer’s or tennis elbow. Figuring out the true cause of symptoms is the key to ensuring that recovery is as fast and effective as possible.
Are you, or somebody you care about, dealing with elbow pain, we would love to hear from you to see how we can help! Give us a call at (239) 232-8155, or send us an email at Contact@serendipityPTW.com.
ความคิดเห็น