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Tendonitis - Golfers Elbow

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Chesnutt

Liv'in the Dream...
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Recently I have been experiencing pain just to the outside of my elbow. My Chiropractor called it tennis elbow. I don't play tennis so it can't be that :act-up:
He suggested ice and a strap type of deal around my arm just below the joint to help support the muscle that connects there. He also suggested giving it a rest for a few weeks, like that's going to happen this late in the season.

Has anyone had this sort of thing and what helped it heal?
 
I got a case of this last year. It was on the top of my elbow toward the back. It hurt constantly and until winter came along it never got any better. Just play through it if you can and let it heal up over the winter. Three weeks ago I got golfers elbow from hitting out of thick rough with a wedge and pulled the muscle running from my forearm to my tricep. This injury is much harder to play with as extreme pain shoots through my arm when I get after a shot. It is bruised and swollen as well. Keep your arm iced and put icy hot on it before you play, that will help some with the swelling and soreness. Hope it heals up for you.
 
Chesnutt said:
Recently I have been experiencing pain just to the outside of my elbow. My Chiropractor called it tennis elbow. I don't play tennis so it can't be that :act-up:
He suggested ice and a strap type of deal around my arm just below the joint to help support the muscle that connects there. He also suggested giving it a rest for a few weeks, like that's going to happen this late in the season.

Has anyone had this sort of thing and what helped it heal?
Click to expand...

Yep- Nothing to do but give it time to heal. The compression straps on the upper or lower arm are a common thing among many other professional athletes. They help a little bit but wont fix your pain once you have it- they are much more preventative. Take some Aleive before you play and just try to get through it. If it continues to get worse you need to consider backing off for a while. It could cause major damange to the ligament if it continues to rub in the wrong way. Better safe than sorry.
 
RxGus said:
Yep- Nothing to do but give it time to heal. The compression straps on the upper or lower arm are a common thing among many other professional athletes. They help a little bit but wont fix your pain once you have it- they are much more preventative. Take some Aleive before you play and just try to get through it. If it continues to get worse you need to consider backing off for a while. It could cause major damange to the ligament if it continues to rub in the wrong way. Better safe than sorry.
Click to expand...

It isn't too bad yet. More so after playing than during. I only have a month or so left this year and then about five months of rest before Myrtle Beach.
 
I don't play tennis either and sometimes I get this on my right elbow. Lots of R-I-C-E.

R - Rest
I - Ice
C - Compression
E - Elevation

And wrapping your elbow in one of those ace bandages helps too :)
 
Golf Chick said:
I don't play tennis either and sometimes I get this on my right elbow. Lots of R-I-C-E.

R - Rest
I - Ice
C - Compression
E - Elevation

And wrapping your elbow in one of those ace bandages helps too :)
Click to expand...

I thought the R was for RUM... I find that helps.

Thanks for the info. It appears I have the right idea.
Suffer for a few more weeks but pay attention that it doesn't get worse.
Ice a few times a day. And Ibuprofen as required.
 
I've got it bad right now. Trying to play through it. Yesterday on the 16th hole when it was nice and inflamed, I clipped my elbow on a metal strut on the cart. Almost dropped me to my knees. I am almost two full clubs shorter with the damn thing. Aleve has worked much better than Advil. Ice helps.

Kevin
 
Tennis (or Golf) elbow is an inflammation, soreness, or pain on the outside (lateral) side of the upper arm near the elbow. There may be a partial tear of the tendon fibers, which connect muscle to bone, at or near their point of origin on the outside of the elbow.

The goal of treatment is to relieve pain and swelling. Treatment may include:

•Heat therapy
•Local injection of cortisone and an numbing medicine
•Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (such as ibuprofen, naproxen or aspirin)
•Physical therapy
•Pulsed ultrasound to break up scar tissue, promote healing, and increase blood flow in the area
•Using a splint to keep the forearm and elbow still for 2 to 3 weeks

This injury is due to repeated motions of the wrist or forearm. The injury is typically associated with tennis playing, hence the name "tennis elbow." However, any activity that involves repetitive twisting of the wrist (like using a screwdriver or playing golf) can lead to this condition.

I hope this helps, but if symptoms continue, go see your doctor.
A few years ago, I thought I had tennis elbow for almost a year. I finally gave up and got it looked at.
Turned out to be a torn ligament in my elbow and I had to have the "Tommy John" procedure done.
 
Some info for golfers with tennis elbow concerns

Some info for golfers with tennis elbow concerns

Thought I would offer some information on dealing with tennis elbow as a golfer for those that might be confronting some of the same issues.

Golf elbow for golfers is also a concern. However golf elbow is generally considered to be related to pain or strain on the inside of the elbow extending down into the wrist.

Golfers are also prone to tennis elbow which is pain or strain on the outside of the elbow which can also extend down the wrist and can move in the other direction a bit as well. I have tennis elbow.

I was reading thedue's post about not being able to resist getting out there although he has some back discomfort to deal with. Thank God my back is not acting up at the moment. The point is that it is tough to stay down when the weather is nice and you really think you can play and want to play. After reading that I thought it made sense to post something here that might help folks dealing with some elbow discomfort.

I think this info might be most relevant for us middle aged and older golfers.

My elbow started acting up a little this winter and had gotten progressively worse this spring until I started to treat it.

One thing that turned out to be a great surprise to me was the difference in the performance of the various elbow straps out there on the market. There are a great many in the $10-$20 price range that are available anywhere from drug stores to sporting goods stores and they do provide some support to the elbow in my experience. There are larger elastic supports that tend to go from the middle of your forearm over the elbow and up to the bicep and they tend to be in the $20-$25 range. I have had a difficult time distinguishing much of a difference between this grouping of straps and supports from $10-$25. They do all appear to provide some support to the elbow.

There is one strap that at least in the category of straps stands out head and shoulders above the others. It is made by Bauerfeind, a company that specializes in supports of this type. The Bauerfieind Epipoint strap is an impressive design. They have gone a long way to optimize the performance of their strap. It is the only strap I know of that is designed such that it conforms to the shape of the upper forearm and elbow. As such it provides maximum support to the area that needs it. in addition their pad is very well designed and is intended to provide the most support for a strap type device. All of these straps have a pad of some sort that is actually providing support at the point where it is needed to impact the effected area. Simply put, based on having used several of these devices the Bauerfeind provides the most support while also doing the most to limit constriction of blood flow which is vital to the healing process. The Bauerfeind strap is far and away the most expensive of its type and is clearly the kind of medical device where you are paying as much for the R&D as anything else. However the difference in comfort and support is remarkable. It is Mercedes Benz to Pacer like when compared to the others that you can find on the market. As such I would say those of us that are middle aged and older might be the most likely candidates for it.

As we age the healing process is more time consuming, requires more patience and the chance is probably greater that we injure the joint even further if we are not careful. Hence the added cost is likely worth it for us.

Bauerfeind also makes a support that goes from the middle of the forearm and over the elbow. It is more costly but offers an incredible amount of support to the elbow again without constricting blood flow. If you have maybe let your elbow go farther than you should have and are really worried that you are going to have to put yourself completely on the shelf for a time, the full support might be worth considering.

I have cut back on my play as a means of allowing for more healing time and less stress and I will not go out there without at least the Epipoint strap.

I also use a cold compress after every round in order to keep inflammation down and will treat with heat and with a device that in effect draws blood to the effected area in order to speed the healing process.

I would caution anyone with one of these stress related injuries that if your injury continues to get worse at some point you just need to put yourself on the shelf for awhile, at least in my opinion. In my case I am throwing enough at the injury and have cut back my play enough so that my injury is improving without putting myself completely out of commission. I actually wish I had treated it more aggressively earlier as I might be completely healed by now if I had. I am thankful that many of the exercises that I have been doing are designed to improve the strength of that joint as it has gone a long way to preventing the injury from getting worse.

Anyway hope this helps any of you also struggling with some elbow discomfort. Please do not allow my comments to override those of your doctor. If you are at the point where you have had to seek medical advice, please heed that advice and not mine!
 
Thanks for this. I had tennis elbow last Fall and it was excruciating. Equal in excrutiatingness to the plantar fasciitis I have suffered with in the past. Last October it was so bad that something as simple a putting my hand on the top of a full soda can and trying to pick it up hurt like hell. Over the Winter I would go on two week schedules of Aleve, icing, and stretching exercises I found on the Internet. I was getting pretty concerned as by February it had not noticeably improved. Knowing the entry for The Morgan Cup was approaching I was seriously considering not trying to get in if it didn't improve. Fortunately in early March it improved a lot. Almost to no pain at all. No after hitting untold golf balls and playing over 20 rounds of golf already this year, it is hardly noticeable. In fact it seems stronger.

Some of my research indicates tennis elbow in golfers is caused by a swing flaw. In my case I'm almost positive that because of weight gain, and the resulting effect on my golf swing (trying to manipulate the club with my hands and arms instead making a good turn), the condition arose.

The strap you mention is intriguing, and if mine flares up at any point, I'll be checking into that.

Kevin
 
I was a tennis player for almost 40 years of my life. It WAS my life. I played 3 to 5 days per week. One day I had a league match that went to three set tie breakers and I was fine. The next day I again had a match that went to three set tie breakers and I was fine. The next morning I woke up with the worst case of lateral epicondylitis ever (tennis elbow). It took me two years of rest and drugs to heal. That's when I took up golf. Now my life IS golf and I'm fine....and I'm addicted. If my body fails me again I might just go crazy.

My advise to those that have tennis elbow; don't do ANY sports for at least one year or until you are symptom free for an extended length of time, otherwise you'll never heal.
 
Thanks for the info jnug! I will bookmark this thread for future reference. Now if you can find me a wrist support device it would be great :beat-up:! I injured my right wrist doing curls at the gym and now it has some inflammation. I have removed that part of my gym routine but the pain is still lingering around. Any good advice on wrist support would be appreciated.
 
Thanks Idrops. Fortunately the combination of cutting back on play, continued strengthening of the muscles around the joint, treatment and support when I do anything is yielding positive results. Pain and discomfort has been much reduced. However if I regress at all from here I will have no choice but to hang it up for awhile.

Gray is right I believe. I am not sure about whether golfers elbow is caused by a swing flaw but I do think that tennis elbow in a golfer is caused in part by a swing flaw. I think the other reason that it has improved for me is that my swing is much improved over where it was this winter. Mine never got to be anything like as uncomfortable as what Gray is describing and I have clearly turned the corner at this point.

I am actually now torn with regard to winter practice sessions here in the Northeast. You cannot get in enough work to do anything other than keep some semblance of a hand in the game. However you are stuck with mats. Even though I doubled up on the mats I still ultimately came away with some discomfort and I really did not get much of anything accomplished of a positive nature.

My experience this past winter was that I could not use the tools I had that would have kept my swing in line and just kept repeating bad swing habits all winter long to the point of causing a physical issue.

On the other hand my game has turned a significant corner as well. I do not believe I will lose ground over the winter as long as I do some things that will maintain some semblance of tempo and rhythm. I needed some tools to help me find my way out of the woods when I get there. I was worried last winter because I did not have the tools I needed to work my way into shape and convinced myself that I would give back much of the ground that I had gained last year.

No longer as worried about that as I now have some good tools to help me get back on track in the spring. I will never be threatening the Tour but I now have a swing that I can repeat and that I know how to find when it has gone away on me.

When I get to winter this year I am going to cut back much more than I did last winter.

Gray I wish I had something for you regarding wrist issues but I don't know of anything that is designed to help support your wrist during an activity like golf . There are plenty of good wrist supports out there that will help you rest and support the wrist while getting through the day but I don't know of any that will allow you to swing the club.
 
In the past, there were only two treatments for epicondylitis, rest and antiinflammatory meds. There is however, a fairly new technique that involves stretching the muscle/tendon while in a state of contraction. There was you tube video of it I saw and I started to do it as a preventative measure, but you may want to try it now. You twist a rubber rod while squeezing it with your hands. Do a search and I'm sure you will find it. I believe you should only do this when not in the acute phase. Good luck.
 
Thanks for the info jnug. I have been dealing with tennis elbow and have found the straps and icing works best for me. I have been finding that some straps work much better than others so I will have to check out your suggestion.
 
Thanks Idrops. Without as yet seeing the video it sounds like a means of strengthening the areas that are absorbing the stress from the point just below the elbow all the way down into the wrist which makes a good deal of sense.

I will definitely check it out.
 
I will book mark this thread too OG, I used to suffer from Tennis Elbow when I was an active bowler.
 
Idrops said:
In the past, there were only two treatments for epicondylitis, rest and antiinflammatory meds. There is however, a fairly new technique that involves stretching the muscle/tendon while in a state of contraction. There was you tube video of it I saw and I started to do it as a preventative measure, but you may want to try it now. You twist a rubber rod while squeezing it with your hands. Do a search and I'm sure you will find it. I believe you should only do this when not in the acute phase. Good luck.
Click to expand...

When I was looking for relief, I read accounts of that simple move with the rubber rod curing tennis elbow in a couple weeks. I never got around to looking for one.

Kevin
 
I second the idea of the efficacy of this new rehab strategy. I didn't use the rubber rod, but I simply used light dumbells and laid my forearm on a table with the wrist out flat and used my muscles to allow the wrist to bow downward (supinate) with the weight in my hand. Light sessions like this seemed to really help and required no real rest. It was as effective as the insoles with the bump in the arch was for plantar fascititis. I was unable to walk without discomfort till I wore these for a couple of months and then no more trouble...*touching wood*!

Dan
 
Thanks for the info jnug. I did suffer from tennis elbow many years ago, but no longer. In the case of my back I've really seen a marked improvement over the weekend and honestly seems like the swing has some what helped to stretch things out helping me become a bit more limber, but its completely different than what you are mentioning here.

Great info coming in on this thread.
 
I just had to post and comment about how right Gray is about tennis elbow for golfers being caused by poor swing technique. I cannot comment on golfers elbow which is on the inside of the elbow as opposed to the outside. However I am as convinced as Grey is that tennis elbow in golfers is a swing issue.

I have been fortunate enough to have gotten to it early and have a treatment regimen that is allowing me to continue to play while my tennis elbow is improving. However the kind of bad swings that cause tennis elbow in golfers is no longer an option for me. Fixing that one has become a matter of necessity. It has really forced me to make a good weight transfer as I cannot be lax in that regard. I don't have a choice at this point and in an odd sort of way forcing the issue has really helped me. I would not recommend it as a means of improving your golf game but at least I can say there has been a silver lining.
 
I want my credit. It was me that mentioned the swing flaw, not that old gray dude. lol. Glad you're seeing some improvement by making a swing change. I'm convince mine arose from swinging with my arms and trying to create power and manipulate the club face with my hands to compensate for a poor shoulder turn.

So not only does an improved golf swing make the game more fun, it's good for you! Like bacon and gin.

Kevin
 
Esox said:
I want my credit. It was me that mentioned the swing flaw, not that old gray dude. lol. Glad you're seeing some improvement by making a swing change. I'm convince mine arose from swinging with my arms and trying to create power and manipulate the club face with my hands to compensate for a poor shoulder turn.

So not only does an improved golf swing make the game more fun, it's good for you! Like bacon and gin.

Kevin
Click to expand...

:laughing: Kevin is right, that was his tip lol......
 
Nuts.....why the hell did I think it was Gray? Probably because I figured the maladies are piling up on us and I attributed an experience level to Gray for being well.....gray.
 
I just wanted to update folks mainly because since I am a tennis elbow sufferer, I realize how difficult it is to deal with and if I can help anybody cope with it better than that would be great.

I know last I posted I mentioned the Epitrain full elbow sleeve and the Epitrain band. While the band is in all likelihood the best band ever designed, the sleeve is unbelievably effective at protecting the elbow and allowing for some play while heeling. I am not recommending that people continue to play with this malady especially if it is advanced. In my case I began treating it pretty early.

I now use the sleeve when playing and the band if I anticipate some discomfort from some activity that is not as strenuous on the elbow as playing golf.

I would also have to say the exercises built around the use of the Teriband Flexbar have turned out to be very effective as part of the recovery process. Theriband provides instructions on how you are supposed to use it for tennis elbow related exercise.


The combination I have found to be most effective has been:
- the mendmeshop.com freeze wrap for ice and compression immediately following any activity, like a round of golf
- the Tenease portable treatment unit that uses focused vibration to encourage blood to the elbow speeding up the healing
- heat via a good heating pad (recommend caution here. Too much heat will not improve or speed the healing process
- the Theriband Flexbar (medium weight which is green is best for me)

I use the freeze wrap every time after activity. I use the Tenease unit three to four times per day, ten minutes duration of treatment each time. I will treat with the heating pad for an additional five minutes per treatment also four times per day. Finally along with any other exercises I might be doing, I will do 10 reps of the Flexbar almost every chance I get, maybe up to ten times per day. It is easy to do and extremely effective.I flex my forearm whenever possible doing so in such a way as to duplicate the Flexbar exercise.

I cannot express in strong enough terms the need to get to this injury early as the longer you wait the longer it will take to heal and the less likely you are to improve while still being able to play some.

Right now I would say that the pain and discomfort are about half of what they were at their worst and improving every day. Pain and discomfort after play is also much reduced.

I do want to thank all the folks that made suggestions and contributed to this thread and to the success I have enjoyed fighting back the ailment.
 
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