Tennis Elbow and Golfer's Elbow: Prevention and Recovery

Overcoming Elbow Pain from Overuse Injuries

You reach for your coffee cup and a sharp pain shoots through your elbow. Opening a jar becomes an ordeal. Even shaking hands feels uncomfortable. If your elbow has been bothering you, you might be dealing with tennis elbow or golfer’s elbow, two frustratingly common conditions that, despite their names, have nothing to do with whether you play sports.

Understanding these conditions helps you prevent them in the first place and recover more effectively when they occur.

What Is Actually Happening in Your Elbow

Tennis elbow, known medically as lateral epicondylitis, affects the outside of your elbow. It involves the tendons that extend your wrist and fingers, and pain typically flares with gripping, lifting, and twisting motions. Golfer’s elbow, or medial epicondylitis, affects the inside of your elbow and involves the tendons that flex your wrist. Pain shows up with gripping and activities that bend your wrist downward.

Both conditions develop when these tendons become irritated and begin to break down from repetitive stress.

The Real Causes May Surprise You

Despite the sporty names, most cases have nothing to do with tennis or golf. The most common culprits include repetitive computer mouse and keyboard use, manual labor like painting, plumbing, or carpentry, gardening and yard work, cooking and food preparation, and yes, sometimes racquet sports or golf, usually due to improper technique.

Recognizing the Problem

You might notice pain at the elbow that radiates into your forearm. Grip strength often weakens noticeably. Specific movements become painful, like lifting a coffee cup, turning doorknobs, or shaking hands. The bony bump on the affected side of your elbow feels tender to touch. Typically, symptoms worsen with activity and improve with rest.

Finding Lasting Relief

Physiotherapy provides the most effective long-term solution. Treatment begins with load management, modifying the activities that aggravate your symptoms while maintaining what you can. Eccentric exercises, a specific type of strengthening, have been shown to promote tendon healing. Manual therapy addresses soft tissue restrictions and joint mobility. Stretching maintains flexibility in the forearm muscles that connect to those painful tendons.

Acupuncture complements physiotherapy well, reducing pain and inflammation, improving local circulation, and addressing the muscle tension patterns that often contribute to these conditions.

Home care strategies include icing for fifteen to twenty minutes after aggravating activities, wearing a counterforce brace during problematic tasks, making ergonomic modifications to your workstation, and taking regular breaks from repetitive activities.

Preventing Future Problems

1. Strengthen your forearm muscles before they become problematic
2. Use proper technique in sports and manual activities
3. Take breaks during repetitive tasks
4. Stretch regularly after activities involving gripping
5. Address early warning signs before they become chronic

What to Expect from Recovery

With proper treatment, most cases improve significantly within six to twelve weeks. However, chronic cases may take longer. Consistency with your exercises is crucial for lasting recovery. Do not let elbow pain limit your activities. Schedule an assessment at Health Craft Clinic for a personalized treatment plan.