have you had golfer's elbow before?

[colin007]

right handed, sore left elbow.  it also has spread to the front of the bottom of my biceps.  very annoying.

[JetFan1983]

I've been bothered by a sore elbow for the past 12 months. It started after I spent a few weeks straight hitting off cheap mats. I've been icing it after rounds and range sessions ever since, and I do my best to stick to grass.

I recently began doing a triceps stretch after golf and in the evening on non-golf days and it is helping. Here's a quick overview on some stretches you can do after golfing to help the situation.

From Livestrong:

Quote:

Photo Credit Creatas Images/Creatas/Getty Images

The elbow joint is a complex network of nerves, muscles, blood vessels and ligaments. You can experience pain in the joint due to a number of conditions and causes, including inflammation known as tennis elbow, arthritis, ligament sprain and tendinitis. If you have experienced an elbow injury or have elbow pain, you can perform regular exercises to reduce inflammation and tenderness. However, if your injury is keeping you from gripping properly or you feel deformity in the elbow, seek a physician's evaluation to get approval before beginning any exercises.

WRIST EXTENSION

The Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation recommends the wrist extension exercise as the best if you are experiencing soreness in the inner-right portion of your elbow. Start by extending your right arm at shoulder height with your palm facing toward the ceiling. Grasp the right hand with your left hand and pull the right hand toward your chest. You should feel a stretch in your elbow as you hold this position for 10 to 15 seconds. Release the stretch and repeat on the opposite side. Stretch each arm three times to complete the stretch.

WRIST TWIST

The Hughston Sports Medicine Foundation recommends the wrist twist exercise as one of the best to reduce muscle tension in the wrist that can contribute to elbow pain. Begin by holding a can of food or lightweight dumbbell --- between 1 and 2 lbs. --- in your right hand. Extend your arm at your shoulder height with your knuckles facing the wall to the right of you. Bend at the wrist to lower the can or dumbbell toward the ground. Keep your arm extended as you feel a stretch at the top of your wrist. Hold this position for 10 seconds, and then slowly lift the can or dumbbell back toward chest, holding this position for an additional 10 seconds. Repeat the twist back and forth three times.

ARM REACH-BACK

If you experience soreness and tightness in the elbow, the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation rates the arm reach-back exercise as one of the best. Stand and reach your arms behind you, linking your hands together if possible. Try to keep your elbow straight to maintain the stretch in the elbows. You can lower and raise the hands to change the degree of stretch you experience. Hold this position for 10 seconds. As you hold, try to keep the shoulders down to further stretch the elbows. Repeat the stretch four times.

TRICEPS STRETCH

The triceps are the muscles located on the back of your arm and they connect to the elbow. If you experience pain in the upper portion of the elbow, the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation recommends the triceps stretch exercise as one of the best for reducing soreness. To perform it, straighten your left arm in the air, and then bend at the elbow, reaching the left hand toward your right shoulder. You can use your right hand to pull the elbow more toward your right side, feeling a stretch in the arm and elbow. Hold this position for 15 seconds, and then lower and repeat to stretch the other arm. Repeat the stretch two times on each arm.

REFERENCES

• Yukon-Kuskoswim Health Corporation; Exercises for the Elbow; Anne Kosacheff; June 2006
• MayoClinic.com: Elbow Pain
• The Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma: What Is Tennis Elbow?
• Hughston Sports Medicine Foundation; Rehab for Tennis Elbow; Tim Uhl

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/418342-the-best-exercises-for-sore-elbows/#ixzz2DgKoucyP

I don't hold the stretch for as long as they recommend. Between rest, icing, and this stretch after activities, I've managed it well. Fingers crossed.

[Rushmore]

I have had it in each elbow at one point or another (I am a righty).

After much analysis, using the strap, Icy Hot, etc., I have realized what happened.

I noticed that when I had the pain, it was when I was scoring poorly. As my handicap came down, the pain lessened. If someone stuck a gun to my head and asked me to assess it, I would bet my life it was either or both of these things causing the pain:

2. Weak grip. A weak grip will cause you to try to turn your hand over unnaturally, causing an odd yank of the elbow tendon.

1. Chicken winging. Once I started keeping my elbows (especially the right elbow) from following the club UP, I noticed the pain went away.

I am pretty sure these are the causes, at least in my humble opinion.

[hanalei]

Dont know if all have the same problem, here's a pic of what I have and is described as tennis/golfers elbow... I'm going on 9 months and breaks, massages and hot cold therapy doesn't seem to help... Oh well, more of a nuicance.

[x129]

Do the stretches and wrist exercises.  Hot/Cold helps after a round but until you strength and stretch the muscles, it keeps coming back. I found the break has to be long (6+ weeks) on most tendon things. And yeah it is a nuicance you deal with until it gets real bad (i.e. it hurts to type) and then you get serious about fixing it.

Originally Posted by hanalei

Dont know if all have the same problem, here's a pic of what I have and is described as tennis/golfers elbow... I'm going on 9 months and breaks, massages and hot cold therapy doesn't seem to help... Oh well, more of a nuicance.

[tuffluck]

Originally Posted by Rushmore

I have had it in each elbow at one point or another (I am a righty).

After much analysis, using the strap, Icy Hot, etc., I have realized what happened.

I noticed that when I had the pain, it was when I was scoring poorly. As my handicap came down, the pain lessened. If someone stuck a gun to my head and asked me to assess it, I would bet my life it was either or both of these things causing the pain:

2. Weak grip. A weak grip will cause you to try to turn your hand over unnaturally, causing an odd yank of the elbow tendon.

1. Chicken winging. Once I started keeping my elbows (especially the right elbow) from following the club UP, I noticed the pain went away.

I am pretty sure these are the causes, at least in my humble opinion.

i think it's more likely caused by the resistance met when your club impacts the ground, which is why the pain is exacerbated when hitting off of mats.  i bet sweepers rarely see golfer's/tennis elbow.

in fact i went and hit some driver range balls in the midst of my pain and it was the first session where i had very little pain afterwards.  when i thought about it, it made a lot of sense because your driver is really the only club that isn't impacting the ground and meeting that resistance.

[MyrtleBeachGolf]

Golfers elbow Golfers shoulder Golfers wrist Golfers back I don't know if these are all real, but I can assure you I have them all.

[Rushmore]

Originally Posted by tuffluck

i think it's more likely caused by the resistance met when your club impacts the ground, which is why the pain is exacerbated when hitting off of mats.  i bet sweepers rarely see golfer's/tennis elbow.

in fact i went and hit some driver range balls in the midst of my pain and it was the first session where i had very little pain afterwards.  when i thought about it, it made a lot of sense because your driver is really the only club that isn't impacting the ground and meeting that resistance.

I would have thought that as well, but I am a sweeper.

Think about my point about grip in particular. I took a LOT of trouble and strengthened my grip (I don't wish this on anyone; it's like learning how to play all over again), and my tendinitis disappeared almost immediately. If you have a super-weak grip (as I did), you are essentially going to get your hands through to an an entirely unnatural position.

[Mr. Desmond]

Originally Posted by tuffluck

weirdly, it just went away, and i didnt even stop playing golf.  i started icing once a day for 20 minutes, 3 ibuprofen once a day, and a few stretches twice daily.

It may return, and who wants to take ibuprofen on a daily basis?

I've suffered it - mats will hurt it more.

The issue disappeared after I went to Nippon Shafts, and then to Aerotech Steelfiber. Both are lite weight shafts with low torque. Surprisingly, the Aerotech has torque ratings lower than steel. Most people find them as the composite go-to shaft. It is a graphite core wrapped in micro steel strands - micro as in a human hair. They are used on Tour in the i95 weight.

Most popular weights are the i80 (80g), and now the i70's are getting attention.

Next time you reshaft, you might consider the Aerotechs.

[tuffluck]

Originally Posted by Mr. Desmond

It may return, and who wants to take ibuprofen on a daily basis?

I've suffered it - mats will hurt it more.

The issue disappeared after I went to Nippon Shafts, and then to Aerotech Steelfiber. Both are lite weight shafts with low torque. Surprisingly, the Aerotech has torque ratings lower than steel. Most people find them as the composite go-to shaft. It is a graphite core wrapped in micro steel strands - micro as in a human hair. They are used on Tour in the i95 weight.

Most popular weights are the i80 (80g), and now the i70's are getting attention.

Next time you reshaft, you might consider the Aerotechs.

well if you take ibuprofen daily for a few weeks, it helps with inflammation.  since the elbow is no longer inflamed, i don't take it any more.

[Mr. Desmond]

Originally Posted by tuffluck

well if you take ibuprofen daily for a few weeks, it helps with inflammation.  since the elbow is no longer inflamed, i don't take it any more.

Good luck with it. Hope it doesn't pop up again.

Mine has not ... going on 10 years.

[tuffluck]

Originally Posted by Mr. Desmond

Good luck with it. Hope it doesn't pop up again.

Mine has not ... going on 10 years.

ironically it started hurting after a round yesterday, even though i took about 10 days off.  strange too because the last time i played i played for about 3 days straight and by the 2nd round it didn't hurt again.  i guess it's just a tempermental sort of thing.

[JetFan1983]

Originally Posted by tuffluck

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Desmond

Good luck with it. Hope it doesn't pop up again.

Mine has not ... going on 10 years.

ironically it started hurting after a round yesterday, even though i took about 10 days off.  strange too because the last time i played i played for about 3 days straight and by the 2nd round it didn't hurt again.  i guess it's just a tempermental sort of thing.

Possibly scar tissue you are feeling.