104 | Golfer’s elbow – What it is and what to do!
Welcome to episode 104 of The Optimal Body Podcast
Golfer’s elbow – What it is and what to do!
Pain around the inner side of the elbow? Feeling sensations when you flex the wrist? Dr. Jen & Dr. Dom dive into golfer’s elbow, also known as medial epicondylitis. Kicking off the episode, Dr. Jen & Dr. Dom describe the anatomy and the muscles that play in golfer’s elbow. With a now-debunked conception about inflammation and golfer’s elbow, they explain the more recent research surrounding the causes around the symptoms of golfer’s elbow. Moreover, they highlight how to test for golfer’s elbow and how it may manifest in grip strength, lack of shoulder strength, and muscle tenderness. Finally, they provide and instruct you through some ways to treat your golfer’s elbow, focussing on passive and active range of motion exploration, isometrics, eccentrics, and the areas above and below the elbow. Listen in to hear all about golfer’s elbow!
What you will learn in this PT Pearl:
3:50 – Inflammation? Maybe not the case…
5:00 – Golfer’s elbow anatomy
6:45 – Ulnar nerve
7:42 – Causes of golfer’s elbow and relation to grip strength
12:17 – Prevalence of golfer’s elbow
12:49 – Passive modalities of treatment
16:00 – What you can do!
18:25 – Isometrics
19:14 – Eccentrics
20:04 – Research
Sources cited
Kiel, J. and Kaiser, K. (2019). Golfers elbow. [online] Nih.gov.
Nabil, B.A., Ameer, M.A., Abdelmohsen, A.M., Hanafy, A.F., Yamani, A.S., Elhafez, N.M. and Elhafez, S.M. (2020). The impact of tennis and golfer’s elbow on shoulder external rotators and abductors’ peak torque. Journal of Sport Rehabilitation, 29(4), pp.469–475.
Svernlöv, B., Hultgren, E. and Adolfsson, L. (2012). Medial epicondylalgia (golfer’s elbow) treated by eccentric exercise. Shoulder & Elbow, [online] 4(1), pp.50–55.
Tyler, T.F., Nicholas, S.J., Schmitt, B.M., Mullaney, M. and Hogan, D.E. (2014). Clinical outcomes of the addition of eccentrics for rehabilitation of previously failed treatments of golfer’s elbow. International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, [online] 9(3), pp.365–370.
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