BLOG: How to stop golfer's elbow ruining your summer at the club

Is golfer’s elbow running your summer of play?

If so, and you want to find out how to get better and stop it coming back, Tom Heeley talks you through the injury.

There are two main structures that wrap around the elbow and muscles that feed into the hand.

Tennis elbow is something that affects the outside of the arm, whereas golfer’s elbow is on the inside. They are NOT the same thing because they are affected by two different structures.

There are flexor muscles on the inside and your extensor muscles on the outside.

Golf shot

If you are right-handed golfer, this injury normally affects your right hand when you are in the flicking motion of a golf shot.

Commonly, it will come around when you are playing on mats on the range or hard ground.

Golfer’s elbow is an overuse injury to the muscle where repetitive motion causes an overuse injury.

Is golfer’s elbow ruining your summer?

It often appears in novice golfers or those who don’t play very often and subsequently, don’t hit many balls. That quick spike up in load when people play a lot in a short space of time, leads to that inflammation.

It can be similar to Achilles tendon injuries. These can be caused by things like footwear and changes in insoles. With golf, has your grip changed on your clubs? Could it down to hard mats on a range or even the weight of your clubs may have changed, causing your swing to change.

9 Iron

It’s almost worth going for a lesson for an expert to see what you are doing and suggesting changes to things you may be doing wrong.

Should I stop playing? You may be able to tolerate some 9 irons and wedges but anything with a big swing and hit involved may hurt. You will quickly know your limits.

Golfer’s elbow can be sore when you are playing but you will also notice it when you are holding a jar and trying to twist it open or when you are lifting luggage or food shopping bags.

It will usually be more uncomfortable when you are not playing.

Shoulder

If you come to Optimum Derby with this issue, we would look at a multi-faceted approach to getting you better.

We would look at your shoulder and check its range of movement. Is there any movement lacking. We will manage a set of exercises for the troublesome area and that may even be the ribs.

It’s an injury that builds up over time with scar tissue build up. Then, one hit will send it over the edge. We will work at breaking down that scar tissue, while we work on the pain and discomfort.

It could take 6 to 10 weeks to get better from it and by 10 weeks, I mean fully playing.

When you have recovered, to stop golfer’s elbow coming back, watch our video…