Also called medial epicondylitis, golfer’s elbow is an injury that affects the tendons on the inside of the elbow and the forearm muscles. This condition can be caused by repetitive movements like swinging a golf club, but any repetitive wrist, forearm or elbow movement can cause this condition too. Physical therapy is one of the most effective treatments for golfer’s elbow. There are two exercises in particular that are likely to be included in therapy plans for this injury.
1. Golfer’s elbow stretch
Repetitive movements can lead to golfer’s elbow since these movements increase tension in the muscles on the inner side of the forearm. This tightness places additional stress on the tendons that attach the inner forearm muscles to the elbow bones, and the added stress can cause the pain and other symptoms associated with golfer’s elbow. One golfer’s elbow physical therapy exercise that can help relieve tension in the inner forearm muscles is the golfer’s elbow stretch.
To begin this exercise, hold your right arm straight out in front of you with the palm up. If you have difficulty holding your arm up, you can also lay your arm on a table with your hand and wrist slightly over the table’s edge. Then, relax the forearm muscles so that your hand dangles down toward the floor. Using the opposite hand, gently bend your right hand toward your body, and hold this stretch for about 30 seconds before releasing. Then, repeat the steps to stretch your left forearm, and continue repeating the stretch until you’ve done three to five reps on both sides.
2. Isometric wrist flexion
Once you’ve stretched out the inner forearm muscles, there are other golfer’s elbow physical therapy exercises that can help you strengthen these muscles. One excellent example is the isometric wrist flexion exercise.
This exercise is great because it doesn’t require any special equipment, and it also makes it easy to avoid further injury to the forearm and elbow. Start this exercise by sitting down in a chair next to a table or other flat surface, and rest your right forearm flat on the surface with your palm facing up. This is the home position of the exercise, and from here, you should tense the inner forearm muscles and slowly curl your right hand up toward your elbow. Hold the tension for about three seconds, and then slowly return your hand to the home position.
Try to do at least 15 reps before switching to your left arm. To increase the difficulty of this exercise, you can push down lightly with the opposite hand, but you’ll want to be sure to increase the tension gradually and stop if your pain increases. If the exercise becomes easy even with added tension from your other hand, you can try using a can of soup or a light hand weight to increase the difficulty.
Border Therapy Services offers golfer’s elbow physical therapy
Border Therapy Services is proud to help people with golfer’s elbow physical therapy, and we offer treatment for many other sports injuries and work injuries as well. Our team also offers free screenings that can help pinpoint the injury you’re dealing with, and we can build a personalized therapy plan for you that may include therapy techniques such as:
- Therapeutic stretches
- Strengthening exercises
- Manual therapy
- Kinesio Taping™
Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment if you’re ready to get help treating your golfer’s elbow symptoms.