Tennis Elbow

[Nicshow]

For the last 2 seasons I’ve had to quit due to Tennis Elbow pain. Both times, I’ve had cortisone shots to alleviate the pain. The discomfort is bad enough that I’d sooner quit than keep going through this cycle. However, if my swing is the problem (almost assuredly it is) and I can fix it I’d love to do that. Does anyone have any suggestions for fixing the root cause of the tennis elbow condition?

[byerxa]

Which elbow (lead or trail)? And is it tennis elbow (on the top of the joint) or golf elbow (underneath)? Ultimately some sort of injury is the start of it but tennis elbow generally comes from bad mechanics and golfer elbow more from impact issues.

 

I had nasty tennis elbow on my trail elbow (right, righty swing). Root cause was a combination of

• bad swing mechanics (trying to square club with a flip)
• too many many of said bad swings indoors on mats on concrete
• bad beer league hockey form - left shot so right is top hand on stick and a lot of waving at pucks on defense with one hand
• and finally got that arm jammed playing hockey

At the worst I could barely pick anything up that required leverage, e.g., a pot off the stove. Dropped a lot of things.

 

I finally went to physio and they did a bunch of "treatments" plus gave me stuff to do. I really don't know if the treatments (laser, ultrasound) did anything, but here is what did work for me otherwise:

• Stop what is making it hurt (duh).
• Continually massage and work out the scar tissue. You should be able to manipulate the tendons just off the elbow like guitar strings - mine were a mess.
• Various exercises such as reverse wrist curls and stretches, but the one that really made a difference for me was wrist rolls. I did this by tying a 2lb weight to a stick or bar such that the weight just touches the ground when standing with arms outstretched holding the stick/bar in front of you, then alternate reverse roll your wrists to wind the weight up to the bar then back down to the ground (2-3 rep). You will also see a variation of this with twisting flex bar exercises.

Then once you get it under control, work on swing mechanics to avoid this again. Also be more proactive, i.e., as soon as it hints at flaring up deal with it properly instead of ignoring it.

Edited December 26, 2023 by byerxa

[Roody]

I had it last summer. The two biggest things that helped me were deep tissue massage on the area, and this:

https://www.performancehealth.com/theraband-flexbar

[Hoselknocker]

Graphite shafts and low swing weight heads.  Saved my golf career.

[Socrates]

Have it in my trail arm.  What kills me is using a snowblower.  Golf isn't really an issue unless I hit a bunch of shots where I get off plane.  Had my 4th shot in Sept and thanks to el Nino, I haven't had to do any snowblowing so the elbow is still good.  Any time I do anything (golf, shovelling, etc...) I'm wearing an arm strap.

[TNwanabe]

I struggled with this in first the right forearm then eventually the left. The injuries were work stuff and not from golf. I have dealt with it for years. It was really bad last year and I had tried EVERYTHING under the sun; cortisone, anti-inflammatory meds, massage, electric therapy, sound therapy, ice, heat, I could go on and on. The pain was affecting every aspect of my life and was causing problems in other areas of my body as I tried to compensate. It does not help that I am missing half my right bicep from a post shoulder surgery injury. So the right side was particularly difficult. As you can imagine my swing was a mess. Gripping issues became compounded and the pain was limiting my swing severely. Practicing was out of the picture as it was not worth the inflammation and pain. I began to unconsciously sweep at the ball to avoid the hard strike into the turf. My iron game was limited. Driver became a favorite simply because I was sweeping and it was less painful. 

 

Then i came across PRP injections. The prospect of taking an injection directly into the forearm tendons did not sound like fun but I was desperate. After a search I found a Doctor and got the low down on how it works. The short story is you go to an appointment, and they draw blood. They spin the blood in a centrifuge and separate the plasma and red cells. They then put the red cells with all the good platelets into a syringe and inject it into an injured area. In my case at the top of my forearm right at the joint, into the belly of the forearm and on the underside towards the elbow. It hurt no doubt.

 

But it worked!!!!! Amazingly well! The healing properties of the Platelet Rich Plasma from your own blood cells is miraculous. I still have some pain, but it really is from my overuse at times not necessarily from the old injuries, which will always plague me as I age. I am 60 so wear and tear is built in and life is about managing my body more than it was even 10 years ago. I am sure there are plenty of you guys out there relating to what I am saying. However, it is just so great to be mostly free from daily pain in my forearms and to be able to have a strong, pain free grip on a golf club again. 

 

There are a couple of things to mention about this that are important. First was this was not covered by my insurance. It came out of pocket to the tune of $1200. It was worth every penny.

 

Another thing is you cannot consume anything anti-inflammatory such as ibuprofen or other prescription medications. Even spices like turmeric or supplements with anti-inflammatory ingredients need to be stopped. You have to stop whatever they say about 2 weeks before and then for 3 months after. The cells work with the bodies inflammatory system to work, and you cannot take anything to clear it up or risk removing the healing cells. Also, there is no pain killers at all. Not even on the injection site. The best he could do was spray the injection spot with a can of freeze to numb the surface. 

 

This means it is going to hurt. And it did. Shooting a bunch of blood cells directly into an already inflamed and swollen area is really a space issue. Cramming it in there like that hurt. Up into and against those jagged tendons now with this extra pressure on them really caused the pain to throb. The three injections hurt but were not completely unmanageable. It is the after where it was challenging. 

 

The first day sucks. No way to sugar coat it. It is swollen and inflamed. Your body is basically reacting to an injury and has the advantage of having the good cells already on site. This is what is supposed to happen, but man it sucked. You cannot even use ice for the first month. 

 

The good news is every day thereafter it got better. By day four it was still a little swollen, but the pain was far reduced. By 10 days it felt much better, and I did not feel tempted to take pain medication. I started to get overconfident and had to be reminded I could not swing a club for several more weeks. The arm has to be kept "silent" so it can heal. I rested for 8 weeks and as a consequence my left side felt better too. The doctor says the cells flow throughout the body and can help other injures as well although not as well as the injection site itself. 

 

So here I am and a year later I can say it was worth it. In my case nothing had helped long term. I could get some pain alleviated but it would be right back after some usage. PRP was a game changer on a day in day out basis. I highly recommend it. It hurts but you can handle it.

 

If you are interested in this subject, you are probably in pain already and the temporary pain of this procedure has a light at the end of the tunnel for you. But it's a commitment. 

 

[idrive]

12 hours ago, Nicshow said:

For the last 2 seasons I’ve had to quit due to Tennis Elbow pain. Both times, I’ve had cortisone shots to alleviate the pain. The discomfort is bad enough that I’d sooner quit than keep going through this cycle. However, if my swing is the problem (almost assuredly it is) and I can fix it I’d love to do that. Does anyone have any suggestions for fixing the root cause of the tennis elbow condition?

 

Questions:

 

Do you use steel shafts?

Do you practice very much? Are you hitting off of mats?

 

For some of us it's as simple as to go graphite and quit hitting off of mats.

[JungleJimbo]

2 hours ago, idrive said:

 

Questions:

 

Do you use steel shafts?

Do you practice very much? Are you hitting off of mats?

 

For some of us it's as simple as to go graphite and quit hitting off of mats.

"+1" on this ... i.e. my first instinct as well = stop hitting off range mats. 

 

Steelfiber shafts (and lots of hybrids) = helps with shock absorption.

The comment w.r.t. Hybrids = "Don't hit the ground so hard" with my irons a.k.a. "thin to win".

 

14 hours ago, Nicshow said:

For the last 2 seasons I’ve had to quit due to Tennis Elbow pain. Both times, I’ve had cortisone shots to alleviate the pain. The discomfort is bad enough that I’d sooner quit than keep going through this cycle. However, if my swing is the problem (almost assuredly it is) and I can fix it I’d love to do that. Does anyone have any suggestions for fixing the root cause of the tennis elbow condition?

 

[Golfinfloridaafter40]

15 hours ago, Nicshow said:

For the last 2 seasons I’ve had to quit due to Tennis Elbow pain. Both times, I’ve had cortisone shots to alleviate the pain. The discomfort is bad enough that I’d sooner quit than keep going through this cycle. However, if my swing is the problem (almost assuredly it is) and I can fix it I’d love to do that. Does anyone have any suggestions for fixing the root cause of the tennis elbow condition?

I have been through this a couple of times and while the injections and ice certainly help, rest is the only thing that makes it go away.  The most likely cause of the problem is one of two things, either you are sleeping in a position that causes stress to that area and golf aggravates it, or your grip is causing the aggravation. I sleep in a brace most nights and that has cured me, but it does not happen quickly.  I sure hope you figure it out, because I know how much it can hurt

[kwcsports]

Theraband Flexbar and changing to graphite shafts fixed it for me. Zero pain since and I can play as much as I want. 

[Boricua Golf]

Take a small break from hitting golf balls (rest the elbow), graphite shafts as recommended before, I switched to Steefibers i110CW and my pain went away, normally the pain would creep up around hole 6-7, now I don't have any issues at all, it will take a while, but once it does, you'll enjoy the game that much more...good luck

Edited December 27, 2023 by Boricua Golf

[EagleAteBirdie]

A controversial approach that worked for me,

 

I encountered the same problem after 2 years of beating balls off a mat on my golf sim.  Graphite shafts didn't help, and neither did rest or extended breaks.  The pain would return instantly.

 

I then heard about stuck "energy flows" in the body and how a repeated motion can cause chronic pain.  Not going to get into the science or lack of but the fix was to release the stuck energy flow. I did this by doing the opposite of what is normally recommended, and that is exercising the arms.  In particular, bicep curls with controlled motion up and back down.   Nothing heavy.  It was a little uncomfortable at first, but after a few days, the pain just disappeared like an off-switch and never returned. 

 

Apparently, stuck energy can create inflammation, etc, and releasing it can restore correct function.  I'm no MD or medical practitioner of any kind, so use the info as you will.

[Righty to Lefty]

8 hours ago, idrive said:

 

Questions:

 

Do you use steel shafts?

Do you practice very much? Are you hitting off of mats?

 

For some of us it's as simple as to go graphite and quit hitting off of mats.

^^^THIS^^^ Hitting off of those hard rubber mats that are sitting on concrete that most ranges use is the single worst thing you can do and will wreck your body in time.  I learned this lesson both right and left handed. I thought I would never play golf again while playing right handed because so much damage had been done from hitting on mats that I switched to playing lefty. I was headed down the exact same road again but figured out the source and have had no such issues since though it did take almost a year for my body to heal from the damage that was done.  I always carry a set of rubber tees with me in case hitting off of grass is not an option and always make sure to have one that sits just barely above the surface of the mat so that I can hit down on the shot properly, but don't contact the mat with much of the force created by the shot because the problem is that bad mats don't give and absorb force like the ground or a good mat does. 

 

There are a few mats on the market that allow you to properly strike down on the ball, yet absorb the impact and don't transmit all of it back into the body like bad mats do like SIGPRO or Real Feel that can safely be hit off of while sitting on concrete and they are well worth the price and hassle to bring to the range (I used the smaller hitting strips) as they are very durable and much easier on the body.  I hit off a Real mat for 7 years and it never showed any wear or make my elbow pain resurface.  

 

The only thing in regards to technique that I will mention that will for sure make things worse is if your trail arm fully extends prior to striking the ball for a prolonged period of time.  The trail arm should still be bent some amount depending on your physical build at impact or you will develop elbow issues over time.  You shouldn't be trying to hold it straight, your position in relation to the ball should be such that it happens to be bent at impact and is in the act of straightening through impact. I personally never found graphite shafts fixed the issue because my issue persisted when I hit graphite shafts off bad mats but some will say it helped them. Hope this helps R to L