If you golf, play racquet sports, weight train, or play other sports that involve repetitive motions of the wrist, you’ve probably had a run in with golfer’s elbow.
Golfer’s elbow involves pain on the inside of your elbow that runs toward your pinky. You might feel pain when flexing your wrist while your palm faces down or while shaking hands. It will likely feel difficult to grab things or flex your wrist. People with golfer’s elbow also notice a weakened grip, numbness and tingling, and difficulty twisting like when opening jars.
The pain from golfer’s elbow comes about when the tendons and muscles in your elbow that control your wrist and fingers become damaged. Repetitive swinging or other similar motions cause small tears throughout these tissues. It can also come about due to poor form, so be sure that you’re following your sport’s best practices – especially if you play a lot.
People with golfer’s elbow struggle to work after developing the condition because common workplace activities like typing, lifting, and gripping, become difficult from the pain. They also find difficulty staying away from their sport to allow their injury to heal, which can lead to a worsened condition.
So how do you treat golfer’s elbow and get back into the game?
Acupuncture
One of the most effective but overlooked treatments for golfer’s elbow is acupuncture. In this relaxing treatment, an acupuncturist takes tiny needles and inserts them throughout trigger points that influence muscle contraction and your body’s energy force.
This energy force is crucial to supporting your body’s natural healing process. When this energy can flow strongly, your body will have the resources it needs to effectively heal itself – including the small tears in your tendons and muscles. When blocked, your body will be unable to initiate its natural healing process, and you will continue to be in pain.
Acupuncture controls this energy flow like a cell phone tower controls the data that your phone receives. Your body is made up of an electromagnetic field, like the one a cell phone tower creates, and can be influenced by the metal needles used in acupuncture. When this energy opens, your circulation improves – helping your injured muscles and tendons receive the nutrients they need to repair the tears.
Acupuncture trigger points can also stimulate motor points that influence your brain’s connection to the muscle. This connection can cause tight muscles to contract and relax, or to reactive weak muscles. This is one of the best ways to relieve pain without drugs or surgeries.
This technique differs from dry needling as it focuses on restoring your body’s natural energy flow to stimulate the healing process rather than forcing a contraction with a long needle. It takes a practitioner significantly more training to learn acupuncture and provides more long-lasting benefits.
Cupping
Cupping is another drug free pain relief method that is commonly performed alongside acupuncture for particularly stubborn muscles struggling to release.
Cups are used to create suction in tight or injured muscles to stimulate negative pressure. This negative pressure not only causes the muscle to relax, but it also brings fluids to the injured area. These fluids provide important nutrients and circulation that your tissues need to heal.
Cupping is also a great method for improving your range of motion, which is likely dramatically affected following a golfer’s elbow injury. The combination of improved circulation and muscle relaxation can allow your elbow and wrist to regain their mobility.
Electrical Stimulation
Electrical stimulation is another method commonly used with acupuncture to help relieve difficult muscle tension. This can help expedite your recovery and get you out of pain even faster.
Like the other methods, this technique is designed to cause contractions in the muscle that lead to relaxation. Muscles need an input of energy to relax once tense, and the electrical impulses send signals through your muscle to relax.
Does electrical stimulation hurt? Not at all. It may feel like a gentle tickle and is overall very relaxing. Most patients feel lulled to sleep during the process.
Dry Needling
Dry needling is a physical therapy technique that works through a similar mechanism as the other methods and is used with muscles that struggle to release.
A long needle is inserted into the trigger point of the affected muscle. The insertion of the needle causes a contraction, leading to relaxation. This method is more painful than others but remains an effective option when necessary.
Chinese Herbs
You may reach for a pain reliever to knock out pain, but many over the counter medications for pain have negative consequences – especially when used over the long term. Herbal medicine remedies can be used to naturally decrease inflammation in your body while relieving pain.
If the loss of mobility or pain in your elbow and wrist is bad enough, your acupuncturist may suggest an herbal medicine prescription to help manage your pain naturally. This is a great way to help the effects of your appointment last even longer.
OHM Acupuncture has 20+ years of experience utilizing all these techniques and more to help relieve your pain. Eve Kocurek has high rates of success in helping her patients heal painful conditions including golfer’s elbow. Make an appointment to get your mobility back and get back to your favorite sports fast.
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