Medial epicondylitis, or golfers elbow, causes pain in the muscles and tendons at the medial epicondyle of the elbow. The medial epicondyle is the sharp, bony end of the upper arm, which is the connector point for muscles in the forearm, biceps and triceps. You may have golfers elbow if you experience pain at the medial epicondyle when you grasp an object, such as a golf club, or your hand is bent in the palm-ward direction. A variety of exercises can help to prevent and treat golfers elbow.
Prevention
The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons recommends several exercises that strengthen the forearm muscles to ward off golfers elbow before it causes you pain and takes you off the course. For the first exercise, all you need is a tennis ball and 10 minutes. Squeeze the tennis ball for five minutes in your right hand and five minutes in your left hand to strengthen forearm muscles. Next, perform wrist curls using a lightweight dumbbell. Start with the dumbbell in your palm and roll it to your fingertips. Curl the weight back up to your palm and continue by curling your wrist while holding the weight. Do 10 repetitions of wrist curls in each hand. You can complete your forearm workout with reverse wrist curls, using the same dumbbell you used for regular wrist curls. Hold the weight in your hand and extend your arm with your hand palm-side down. Using your wrist, curl the weight up and down. Perform 10 reverse wrist curls with each hand.
Stretching
If you are suffering from golfers elbow, as with any soft tissue injury, you need to stretch the injured muscles in order to regain flexibility lost with the injury. Stretching will also help your injured muscles back to a point where you can begin resistance-based physical therapy in order to regain strength in the affected area. It is important that you establish a consistent program of gentle stretching that will not strain or overwork your muscles and make the injury worse. To stretch the medial epicondylitis, extend your arm and bend your fingers backward until you feel a stretch in your wrist and forearm muscles. Next, you can reverse the motion by pointing your fingers downward and pulling them in and up toward your forearm with your opposite hand. You can also perform these stretches with a bend in your elbow, which will cause a different stretching sensation. The website Self Care for RSI says you should stop these stretches if you feel any pain.
Coordination
Soft tissue injuries, such as golfers elbow, cause a loss of coordination due to the damage of the nerves in the affected area. Without full control of the nerves, you lose some control over the muscles in the area. A loss of coordination can be damaging to your golf swing and ultimately your performance on the course. In order to regain coordination after a soft tissue injury, you should perform drills specific to the sport you play. For golf elbow, you can regain coordination by gripping, waggling, and swinging your clubs during your rehab period. If you have weighted clubs, you can move on to swinging them as your injury heals. The impact of hitting a full swing golf shot can be damaging to the elbow if it is not fully healed, so be sure to not return to the driving range until your injury is fully healed.
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