Golfer's Elbow: What It Is And What You Should Do About It

15 June 2015
 Categories: Health & Medical , Blog

Share

Golfer's elbow is a certain type of tendonitis that directly impacts the inside of your elbow. The most common symptoms are stiffness, pain, tenderness and weakness in this particular area of the elbow. This type of injury develops due to the repetitive and excessive use of these muscles while swinging a golf club. You are more prone to developing this condition if you are using an improper swinging technique, poor form, or the wrong size club. Now that you know what it is, read on to learn how to successfully deal with golfer's elbow.

Confess to Yourself (and Others) That You Have an Injury

Before you can move forward and deal with the problem, you must first acknowledge that you have one. This is hard for athletes, as they tend to want to ignore or push through the aches and pains until they finish all 18 holes. But, even then, some don't want to seek treatment. Sadly, this usually ends up in the injury requiring surgery.

Work with a Therapist

Physical therapy is going to be a crucial part of your recovery. You need to strengthen the muscles that have weakened in order to correct the tendonitis and prevent further, possibly even more debilitating injuries. At the same time, therapy will help you learn the appropriate warm-up exercises as well as cool down techniques.

Take Care of the Injury

While physical therapy is going to help speed up your recovery and get you back out there, you are going to need to rest. You will need lots of ice and anti-inflammatories. When the pain and inflammation just won't go away, your physician may be able to give you a shot of cortisone or the damage may be so severe that surgery is necessary.

Stick With Your Treatment

You may feel better – less in pain and less stiff – after a few physical therapy sessions. However, this does not mean that it is time to quit and get back out on the course. You need to finish treatment in order to allow your body to fully and completely recover. Otherwise, you are ultimately increasing the risk of further tendon damage.

If you think you are suffering from golfer's elbow, then it is critical that you get in touch with a physical therapist as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the more damage that can be done. Various forms of physical therapy, including aquatic therapy, are available to help you get back out on the green and into the swing of things. Visit a business like Advanced Physical Therapy for help.