Golfer's elbow is a description a medial elbow pain symptom set. The medial elbow is where your funny bone is. Although common in golfers, the condition is not limited to golfers and is often felt in manual laborers, baseball players, weightlifters, and folks who spend a lot of time on their computers for work. The true medical term for Golfer's Elbow is medial epicondylitis.
Pain is felt near the funny bone on the elbow and is made worse when gripping heavy items, working heavily on a mouse or keyboard, throwing a ball, or playing golf. Any activity that places strain on the flexor compartment of the forearm can flare up symptoms.
When the tissues of the flexor compartment of the elbow become overused, they develop scar tissue, adhesion, and fibrosis. This limits range of motion and strength, thus increasing load on the corresponding tendons. As the tendon experiences high load for a long time, it begins to degenerate, causing pain.
When you have Golfer's Elbow, or medial epicondylitis, you can expect pain on the inside of the elbow that may get better with movement. Over time, you will require more warming up in order to get the pain to go away. Once you're done moving and the tendon "cools down," the pain will resume. Medically, most doctors will provide cortisone injections. While this may temporarily reduce the pain, it will increase the rate of degeneration. If the condition progresses, surgical intervention will be needed.
At home treatment should be focused on lengthening the flexors and attempting to reorganize the tendon. Use this test to measure your wrist flexibility to determine if you have adhesion in your forearm. Then, try this exercise and this exercise for 4-6 weeks to see if it improves.
At Wildcard, we utilize shockwave therapy to remove adhesion in the forearm and regenerate your tendons. Depending on the severity of the condition, we can get most individuals 50-75% relief within 6-10 visits. By avoiding injections and fixing the root cause of the issue, you can expect more comprehensive healing and a more permanent intervention.
At Wildcard Spine and Sport, we specialize in fixing pain that’s lasted longer than six months, even if you’ve seen two or more providers. We are the only practitioners in the five boroughs certified to diagnose and remove adhesion. Click the button below or call the office today at 917-908-0055.