Golfer's Elbow - desperate for some good advice!

[golftrition]

Alright then. You have yourself a happy new year!

[Hawkeye77]

I'll respond to that - same to you!

[JJ35]

Had tennis elbow on my left arm, after a scan it revealed I had a huge severe tear in the ligament being a carpenter and playing lots of golf the excessive work on those ligaments over time just gave way. My doctor was a specialist with this type of injury so he suggested PRP straightaway it was the only way to repair the ligament quickly so I could at least work with less pain. Yes PRP is expensive as it is not covered by medical insurance here where I live. As a word of warning the injection was the most excruciating pain I have ever experienced the doc said because my tear was so huge that's why it hurt so much. My recovery was rest, lighter work detail and NO golf whatsoever. 6 months later I went back to golf and it was ok. It has been a year on now and I can say it was a success, I get a little soreness from time to time but with my job that's to be expected. For me the best thing I did was to quit the rubber mats at the range those things will destroy your elbows.

[J13]

PRP can help some and not others. Its a real shame that insurance doesn't cover it as it could probably save insurance companies large sums of money by avoiding surgery. I spoke to a few people who tried PRP and half loved it and the other half didn't see much change. With that said it's a MUCH better treatment option compared to cortisone shots.

[Hawkeye77]

PRP, FAST, surgery - you can get dizzy reading about it all for sure.

[J13]

Agree. Once you develop tennis or golfers elbow it's so painful you dive deep down the rabbit hole looking for anything that could help.

[Whiskey_fire]

Red light therapy worked amazing for me.

[Higgs66]

https://www.painscience.com/articles/spot-05-forearm-extensors.php

[garyt]

Haven't read the whole thread so probably already mentioned, but this will help

[Hawkeye77]

Well I'm done diving. Will be having an MRI as soon as insurance approves it, so hopefully next week. The ortho I saw this morning hasn't gone down the PRP path, has been doing successful arthroscopic procedures for a long time and that is where I'm headed. Just a guess on recovery, but if MRI doesn't show much and/or no major tear, etc. he expects about 6 weeks, maybe a hair longer for recovery, no PT involved and back to gradual and normal activity including golf. Now that's a big "we'll see about that", but he expects to know relatively soon after the procedure whether it was successful and expects it will be. Had a pretty in depth and all around visit and enjoyed the openness. Again, who knows, but I'm going to be optimistic about starting to hit a few balls by the time The Masters rolls around and that would be a great schedule for me!

[BB28403]

Follow a channel called Diesel Fitness on Instagram. The chiropractor lady was working on an MLB’s pitcher’s Tennis Elbow issues. Pretty cool how she does it, they are in Tampa I think.

Im not a big chiropractor fan, but if they are focused on kinetic movements and healing therapies then they prob are ok people.

also I would think KT taping over the tendons that are inflamed would help take off stress in the area.

if all else fails I go to the old stand by and shut down golf for 8 weeks. Usually does the trick of healing anything and everything ailing you.

[Hawkeye77]

Well OP, don’t know that the positioning would be any different for an MRI for your condition, but had mine today - excruciating does not describe it. Had one of my knee with some spinning thing years ago and remember reading magazines, lol. 5 minutes into the 33 minutes the contorted and counterweighted position my left arm was in was sending me signals. No baby by any measure when it comes to pain, but the pain in my bicep and elbow by the time the guy told me on my headphones there were 13 more minutes and please hold steady was unbelievable. Luckily there was no microphone transmitting my response. At least I got a glimpse of what the future holds getting dressed with one arm. Couldn’t even tie my shoes. My wife texted me and after my reaction told me to go home and take some Tylenol, I told her was going to the golf course and taking a cheeseburger, fries and a beer. And about 30 minutes later no real issues, but wow. Had no idea.

[LCP]

I'm not going to read all 5 pages of what's been recommended, and neither myself or anyone here knows the degree of your real injury, so see that sports medicine doc, use the theraband, and rest it til it's healed. Then, ditch the C Tapers. Years ago I read numerous complaints of this kind of pain from those shafts. Inserts work great, or get graphite. I have Cushin X100's. But, stop hitting off mats and don't hit irons on the range much if the ground is hard or sandy. Shallow your swing if you hit down on the ball more than a couple degrees. Those beaver pelts in the ground are not doing your joints any favor, when a simple divot a couple of inches long will do. Look at even your swing mechanics -- something you may be doing with your elbow position or load as you accelerate through the downswing, even though it feels natural to me, may be an unnecessary source of strain that you can tweak in your swing. The thing you might be overlooking is things besides golf that aggravate your elbow that you need to rest from cold turkey -- specifically, lifting or carrying anything of any material weight where it strains that elbow (hey, carton of milk/half empty box of files we're talking about here!) (or some other sport or fitness or work activity). Injured people trying to do strengthening can really overdo it without even thinking about it just leading to more aggravation and injury if they don't start really slowly and easily. Heck, one round of bowling did me a real number I didn't recover from for a year (until I finally let it rest and recovered).

[J13]

The MRI was one of the most painful things i've had to do in a long time. Not fun.

[MK7Golf21]

surprisingly you don't hear of many cases of pro's really suffering from this considering how many balls they beat, I've heard a few cases but nothing like I see on the forums.

[JLP_GOLF]

PT is slowly starting to work... I go about twice a week and the neubie machine works wonders. Google it and find a location near you. Feeling like in a month or so I could be pain free, we will see

[dornstar]

Had surgery on mine a few years back and it sucked... big time. Docs told me I would be able to start hitting balls 3-5 months out, but I wasn't 100% until about a year out. Despite that, I'm now pain free after years of trying everything to deal or fix it.

[Hawkeye77]

Although reviewing MRI results and scheduling is Tuesday, he was suggesting as little as 6 weeks to working back into hitting balls, lol - somehow not buying that. One thing is certain - I won't be rushing anything - wouldn't be surprised if I'm starting from the hole, green, off the green, etc. and farther back like my girls did when they were little, but that should have benefits.

[J13]

I'm 3 months post op and i'm back in the gym and hitting balls and playing some but i'm definitely not 100%. I know it's going to take more time before things are normal again but in the meantime I've learned a big lesson on not overdoing it. Practice will revolve around maybe 40-50 balls max and quality not quantity. I notice after that point i really turn my brain off anyway so I think it will actually help.

[Gata]

After playing several rounds a week this summer, I developed a case of Golfer's elbow for the first time. I figured this might be due to the fact that I was playing and swinging clubs more than I had ever done in my life. I thought the pain was just due to the fact I had not been using those particular arm muscles in that fashion before and that the pain would dissipate over time. The pain did not go away and my elbow would be very tender by the end of a round and would throb all day after. I purchased a theraband and did the recommended exercises, but saw little improvement. I thought that this might just be something I was going to have to deal with if I continued to play frequently.

That has all changed in the last couple of weeks as I have been able to find something that provided relief. I purchased a massage gun after eyeing them for many months and the results have been better than I could have ever imagined. I used the gun on my elbow and the surrounding area with various attachment heads and the pain was much better the next day. I went to the range multiple times during the week including back to back days and am still relatively pain free. Each time when I got home I would run the gun over the area. It immediately reduces the built up tension. Hours and days later, the pain is gone. While it has only been a few weeks, I am hopeful I have found something that is going to be able to allow me to play pain free. I'm sure this is not a cure-all but it is working for me and I thought I would share.

[J13]

Funny you mention that as I have a HyperVolt on the way. I'm obviously going to use it for my elbows but also do a lot of work on my IT band and other problem area's .

[Gata]

I got it mainly for use on the bigger muscles (I.e., hamstrings, glutes, lats) but I tried it on my elbow and it was almost immediate relief. The constant tightness and tension was finally able to release. Hope you have similar results!

[J13]

My PT's believe my tennis and golfers elbow issues stem from tight biceps that are pulling on the tendons.

[Warrior42111]

MY PT mentioned the same thing, she thought I might no have fully recovered/rehabbed the bicep part from my surgery 10 years prior (torn labrum/AC joint/torn bicep)

[Hawkeye77]

Surgery set for the third week of February. MRI showed what he expected to see, so no major tears was the good news. I enjoyed having explained what the views represented.

 

I completely misunderstood his post-op plans when I was there earlier this month. Yes, there will be minimal activity and not a lot of programmed rehab to start with, but that wasn't intended to encompass the whole of the recovery. So there will be PT, home exercises and taking different forms at different stages and obviously dependent on how things go. Not quite as simple as wait 4-6 weeks and start working into golfing, lol, I must have really spaced out on that. Came prepared with more questions and have a doctor more than happy to address them/anticipate them and nothing more really to do but wait 5 or so weeks. Bad news is that is 5 weeks I have to still be on snow shoveling and blowing duty at home (and yes, I've arranged to pay someone to come post-op so my wife doesn't need to worry about it).

[J13]

Sorry to hear but once it's done you will be happy that you are out of pain.

[Hawkeye77]

Thanks! Was stuck at work after the appointment and well into the evening but when reporting to "the boss" tonight she could tell I'm encouraged rather than discouraged. I can be a little owly with an elbow that hurts a little or a lot most of the time, or so I'm told. ;-) I'm also told it's not necessary to say "f" every time I use it to do anything, we've agreed to disagree on that. Makes me feel better and plenty of stuff to get sorted out around the house before I am ordered not to use it, lol.

 

Should know by first or second week of March if the surgery "takes" and sky is the limit from there.

[Warrior42111]

Best of luck

I know I have said this in this topic already but do the PT and at home exercises religiously. It really does make an impact

[Hawkeye77]

Thank you and believe me, I'll be following orders but prepared to not rush anything.

[puresurfr]

I have been battling Golfers elbow for a about 2 years, I went to see a PT who was also a TPI golf instructor and he managed my pain but did not actually improve it. Switching to graphite shafts and using the Theraband flex bar was part of my maintenance program. I still lifted weights but stayed away from barbell curls and tricep work in general.

After this thread started I picked up several useful tips. In addition to doing my normal routine, I added sets of tricep skull crushers and bicep curls to overhead press but instead of using heavy weights, I used light weights and performed many reps. My elbows would be inflamed after a workout but I bought the Kings brand elbow sleeve (Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy ) as well as a Kings Brand elbow ice pack and I got grip exercisers from Captains of Crush and rubber bands from Iron Mind for finger extensors. In addition I am on the Super Speed Program which puts a bit of strain on my elbows. Although I have been firing up the elbows way more than normal, the pay has actually improved. After about 4 weeks of this newer routine, my elbow is a solid 8-9/10. I expected it to get worse but proper form and exercises seem to help. Im not sure what exactly did the trick because I blasted it with everything possible. But I suspect the grip strength and the finger extensor work and barbell/tricep work had a lot to do with getting my elbow function back.

My case was simple elbow tendonitis, I did not have a major tear of a tendon. I was however at the point where brushing my teeth and putting on or taking off a shirt was extremely painful and I could not pour a cup of coffee from a pot into a cup.