Golfers Elbow Pain

Have that annoying pain on the inside of your elbow?  Then you may have a condition called Golfers Elbow or by it's medical jargon name of Medial Epicondylitis.  Clueless and want to learn more about this condition?  Check out the mayo clinics awesome article about it HERE.  In summary, its a pain or inflammation of the tendons on the inside of your elbow that can extend down into your forearm & wrist.  

How does this condition happen?  Well with anything else on your body, overuse and repetitious movement in that area can cause the pain.  Consistent flexing, gripping, or swinging can cause small tears in tendons that can add to the pain.  In case for many golfers, the inside elbow gets quite sore & tight causing these symptoms to become present (hence the name).

What does golfers elbow feel like?  Symptoms can range from pain and tenderness of the inside elbow, numbness & tingling (that can radiate down to the fingers), and stiffness & weakness in the area.  This is a pain that can come about gradually, and get worse the more you ignore it.  It also can come suddenly in case of an accident, or you trigger the right movement that makes the muscles/tendons angry.  Of course this condition just doesn't affect golfers, it can affect anyone who uses repetitive movement from their hand, wrist or forearm.

So what can massage do for this?  In many cases this area can become very tight and constricted which may cause some of the inflammatory response in the tendons.  Trigger points on the inside of the elbow may be sending pain locally or referring down the forearm and into the hands.  Working on these trigger points can cause relief.  Trigger point therapy along with myofascial release work well in relieving these symptoms.  Cross fiber friction to the affected muscles above and below the elbow has also shown to bring relief.  Your therapist should go over a treatment plan about frequency of massage in order to better manage your symptoms.  As a Massage Therapist, I would also show you self treatment techniques you can use on your own to get yourself better faster.

There hasn't been many studies proving the efficacy of massage for golfers elbow, but in my experience I've helped many with their relief of these symptoms.  Has this been a problem that just won't go away?  Try massage today, and see if it can help your condition.  Easy online scheduling HERE.