Tennis elbow(or lateral epicondylitis, to be precise) is a common condition which affects the outside part of the elbow and causes pain with gripping and wrist extension - think of a backhand shot in tennis.
Golfer's elbow(medial epicondylitis) is felt on the inside part of your elbow, so would be aggravated with... a golf swing. In both cases the pain is caused by inflamed tendons, where the muscle meets the bone. To get these properly diagnosed you need to see your chiropractor or GP of course, as there can be a number of causes of elbow pain.
So what's the treatment?
Painkillers, strapping and rest will help the symptoms, and do nothing to treat the cause. You need to ask yourself:
why is the tendon inflamed in the first place?There are actually three joints in the elbow, and any of these can become restricted or slightly misaligned (subluxated), resulting in the tendons becoming irritated and inflamed. Elbows can be adjusted in the same way as the spinal joints, and often don't take many treatments at all to correct.
In my experience, an elbow problem can sometimes be a symptom of an underlying neck problem - because the nerves in your arms come from your neck. Irritated nerves can lead to problems wherever that particular nerve goes. So I'll always assess for a possible neck dysfunction, and correct it if there is, to make sure I've covered all bases.
So the good news is you don't have to stop playing tennis or golf, but you do need to look for the real cause!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.