Golfer’s Elbow, Part One- What is this?
I recently played my first real 18 holes at a beautiful woodsy well groomed course in Boulder Creek CA with a bunch of friends from church. I found 2 truths after 4 hours of fun: 1) I am not 18 years old anymore and I should have stretched EVERY single muscle in my body, and 2) I could have sustained an injury because of my lack of proper preparation. So I wondered what are the most common injuries in golf. Golfer’s elbow is also known as medial epicondylitis. It is an inflammation of the muscles and tendons in your palm side forearm that attach on the inside elbow. In golfers it is caused by an incorrect golf swing, either casting or an over the top swing may lead to this injury. Factory workers, grocery store clerks and other vocations that rely on wrist and arm movement may also be affected. The overuse or incorrect motions can cause ligament damage, muscle scarring and inflammation.
This is a nagging injury that restricts the normal use of your arm. Often the muscle controlling the inward rotation of the wrist is the problem muscle group. If you follow the inside crease of your elbow toward your body, half way down you’ll come to a bony bump. Gently push on it and rotate your wrist completely inward- you can feel the tendon of the “pronator terres” muscle. Muscles scar just like skin, and if the injury isn’t dealt with properly, the symptoms can increase and/or get worse.
It is very true, in a golf swing, almost all of your muscles are used. Find out how chiropractic care can help with Golfers Elbow in the next blog….
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