Tennis and Golfer’s Elbow
Whether you play tennis, paint, rake, knit or type, repetitive arm movements or nonstop gripping can put a strain on your tendons. It can also stress your muscles and lead to tiny tears in your connective tissue.
Tennis Elbow and Golfer’s Elbow can both be categorized as a form of epicondylitis. This is an inflammation of tendons that are attached to your elbow. With Tennis Elbow the area being affected is the lateral (outside) regions of the elbow. Golfer’s Elbow then affects the medial (inside) area of the elbow.
Tennis Elbow
Tennis Elbow
The groups most commonly affected by this condition are adults between the ages of 30 and 50 years old.
Tennis Elbow is an injury that occurs due to muscle strain that causes inflammation to the outside of the elbow and potentially into the forearm.
The injuries that cause the inflammation are generally repetitive uses of your forehand and backhand. Knowing this you can see why it is commonly referred to as Tennis Elbow.
Many people who have never played one set of tennis still wind up having problems with Tennis Elbow.
Repetitive motions using the forehand and backhand are also common among cooks, painters, carpenters and plumbers. The repetitive nature of certain tasks cause your muscles to become overworked which leads to inflammation.
Even simple around the house chores such as gardening, raking, or chopping wood can cause Tennis Elbow.
Golfer’s Elbow
Golfers Elbow
Like Tennis Elbow, this is also caused by repetitive motion. The difference is that the motions that cause pain and inflammation in this case are twisting and flexing motions with your wrists.
Any sort of activity where you repetitively have to bend your wrist in a particular way could be a potential cause of Golfer’s Elbow. This causes an overuse of your forearm muscles which leads to irritation and eventual inflammation.
Good examples of tasks that can cause this problem are shoveling, gardening, and repeated lifting.
Many sports also lead to problems with Golfer’s Elbow. Golf, baseball, weightlifting, and any sport where you use a racquet are good examples.
Treatments
The treatments for Tennis Elbow and Golfer’s Elbow are very similar and simplistic luckily.
The first thing you need to do is give your wrist and elbow a long rest. Avoid the tasks that caused you to have these problems in the first place and make it a point to take it easy.
Sometimes rest is enough to rid yourself of the problem. If you’re experiencing any painful swelling use ice to help it to go down. This will also help you to manage pain. It is also recommend to responsibly take anti-inflammatory medications such as Ibuprofen and massage the area.
It is very important that you go to see your doctor. Your doctor will be able to examine you and give you a proper treatment plan to make sure you recover quickly and safely. It is possible that your doctor might want to give you a cortisone shot. Or prescribe you a brace to help alleviate pain and protect your elbow and or massage therapy to ease pain.
Both Tennis Elbow and Golfer’s Elbow can be incredibly painful experiences, but they are treatable.
The differences between the two may only come down to the location of inflammation, but knowing about what causes both can help you to avoid problems in the future.
If you suffer from one of these conditions know that you can get better with the proper treatment plan and rest. Go see your doctor and talk about the right course of action to take.
Everybody is different. Some might respond well to rest and other patients may need more treatment to get back to normalcy.
Either way the first step to getting better is understanding what your problems are and learning to better avoid what brought on your symptoms in the first place.
Massage For Help For Tennis And Golfers Elbow Pain
While every custom of massage is effective in improving circulation and boosting relaxation. Which is encouraged by the release of serotonin that works as a natural pain-killer and mood-booster. Massage that uses Sports Massage techniques can be particularly effective for people whose tennis elbow or golfers elbow is a result of repetitive strain.
Brilliant, Certified Massage Therapy & Licensed Skin Care, Burlington, Vermont
