Tennis elbow occurs when the muscles and tendons within your forearm, which extend to your wrist and fingers, develop mild pain that slowly worsens over time. It doesn’t usually happen due to a sports injury, but instead from overuse of the forearm’s tendons. The symptoms of tennis elbow include a weakness in your grip and a burning sensation on the outer area of your elbow. This condition will worsen the more you use your forearm in activities such as tennis, shaking hands often or even turning a wrench frequently.
Golfer’s elbow also involves overuse of the forearm, however, we’re looking at the muscles that attach the wrist to the funny bone area of the elbow. Those muscles are responsible for the twisting motion of the wrist, which explains it’s connection to golf. The symptoms of golfer’s elbow include feeling pain near or around the funny bone as well as a reduction in your ability to grip things. This injury can happen outside of the sport as well, often seen in individuals who do repetitive tasks that involve twisting the wrist or forearm.
Common Exercises
Grip Strengthening
Grab yourself a stress ball or something that’s squishy for this exercise. Hold it in your hand and squeeze it gently. Grip it for five seconds before relaxing your hold. Repeat this motion ten times for each wrist.
Strength Exercise
This is a common exercise known as the hammer exercise. Using a hammer as your weighted item for resistance, hold the handle while setting your elbow at a 90-degree angle. Resting on a tabletop surface, slowly turn the hammer towards your body, with your palm turned downward. Then rotate the hammer in the opposite direction, with your palm facing up. Rest between each set, repeating it ten times per wrist.
Wrist Extension
A common range of motion exercise for tennis elbow, set your elbow at a 90-degree angle with your palm facing downward, preferably resting on a flat surface. Extend your wrist gently so it’s lifted off of the table. This shouldn’t be a painful experience. Repeat this exercise ten times per wrist. For added strength building, incorporate weight to add resistance.
Wrist Flexion
Similar to wrist extensions for tennis elbow, place your elbow at a 90-degree angle while resting on a flat surface. With your palm facing upward, gently extend and list your wrist from the table in an upward motion. Do this ten times for each wrist and add weight to make it more challenging once you’ve made progress. This should improve your golfer’s elbow over time.
If you’re experiencing tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow or any other joint and muscle discomfort, it’s in your best interest to visit a chiropractor that specializes in these sports injuries. At Paterson Chiropractic, we’re a health care clinic dedicated to providing pain relief and improve the general health of our patients. Located in Langley, British Columbia, our services include massage therapy, chiropractic care, sports injury relief, pediatric and geriatric care, and cranial readjustment. Walk-in patients are always welcome, but if you’d like to book an appointment, give us a call anytime.