Golfer's & Tennis
Elbow
Osteopathy & Shockwave Therapy for Golfer’s & Tennis Elbow
Golfer’s Elbow and Tennis Elbow are the common names for conditions causing pain on the inside or outside of your elbow joint and into the muscles of the forearm.
Tennis Elbow is also known as Lateral Epicondylitis or Lateral Epicondylopathy While Golfer’s Elbow is also known as Medial Epicondylitis or Medial Epicondylopathy – all of which are a bit of a mouthful, hence the generally preferred use of their common names!
What are the symptoms?
The symptoms of Tennis Elbow are pain into the outside of your elbow joint, whilst with Golfer’s Elbow the pain is on the inside of the joint. You may also be experiencing pain in your forearm and into the lower part of your upper arm.
Their name can be somewhat confusing as, although they can be caused by playing golf or tennis, more often than not they will be the result of something other than sport.
With both conditions grip-strength could be affected and you may find that the elbow and forearm feel weak and painful when performing simple tasks such as picking up a kettle, turning stiff door handles and using tools like screwdrivers.
Although we see and treat both of these conditions in clinic, Tennis Elbow is the much more common of the two.
What are the causes?
Tennis and Golfer’s Elbow can be caused by a one-off injury – a ‘knock’ to the inside or outside of the elbow for example -however it is much more commonly a cumulative picture resulting from repetitive strain to the tendons in your forearm.
People who are most vulnerable to these conditions are those with jobs involving repetitive use of the forearms, such as builders, plumbers, decorators as well as office workers who spend a lot of time in front of a computer using a keyboard and mouse. Computer ‘gamers’ are also susceptible.
How can we treat it?
Short-lived golfer’s and tennis elbow problems, up to 2-3 months in duration, tend to respond well to hands-on osteopathic treatment, acupuncture, kinesio taping and exercise advice. These problems tend to resolve in 3-5 sessions.
Longer-term problems can also respond well to the same treatment however due to the structural changes to the tendons, the longer-term conditions they will often benefit from a course of Shockwave Therapy instead.
Our clinic provides osteopathy & shockwave therapy for areas including March, Ely, Wisbech, Huntingdon, St Ives & Whittlesey and beyond.
Want to know more?
Contact us now to book a free 15-minute chat with an Osteopath to see if we could help with your elbow problem.
Need help? Call us on 01354 694050 or book online here