I suspect I caused the injury myself, just swinging the golf club badly too many times… Or hitting the ground with too much enthusiasm! In any event, I mentioned the pain in my elbow to my doctor last week… “I think I need an xray or something,” I said. “I’ve got this sharp pain in my elbow every time I swing the club.”
She took my arm and pressing her finger deep, right on top of the tendons between my wrist and my elbow, asked sweetly, “Does this hurt?” Yowsa!!! “YES!” No question, the doctor hit the pain right on the mark!
“You’ve got tennis elbow!” she declared. “You play golf?” I nodded. “Well, then call it golfer’s elbow.”
Knowing there’s a name for the pain helped a little. But what next? What is this anyway? Who gets it, and why, and how do I get rid of the pain so I can keep on playing?
Here’s what WebMD has to say about “Tennis/Golf Elbow”:
Tennis elbow refers to overuse of arm muscles that creates elbow pain. Tennis elbow pain occurs in the area at the outside of the elbow, where tendons and muscles attach to it. If the pain is on the inner elbow, it is referred to as “golfer’s elbow.” (Editor’s Note: I must have a schizoid elbow… as my symptoms are definitely on the outside! Result: lots of “chicken wing swings” when I hit, especially chips and pitch shots.) Symptoms of tennis elbow include pain around the outer elbow, made worse by squeezing, lifting, opening things, and other symptoms. While tennis elbow will affect up to 50% of tennis players, you do not have to play tennis to get it. Treatments include rest, ice, and pain medications. Most people will recover by using these guidelines.
(Read more about the causes and symptoms of this common complaint at WebMD’s website.
So, what do I do to keep playing? I don’t want to stop playing golf. I am willing to take a week off, take drugs (drugs are good!) but what else?
The doctor recommended I get a brace for my arm. I’ve seen other golfers with them and always wondered what that was about. What it is: A simple cuff you wear just on your forearm just about two inches below the elbow. Easy to buy at a retail sports store, CVS or online, I had one by the next day. The cuff has a trigger point built in and when you tighten the cuff, the point presses on the tendon and relieves the pressure on the elbow. It’s magical! I’ve played so much better now that I have the cuff. No more chicken wing swings! My scores are still in the high stratosphere, as I have lots of distance but no direction, but that’s another problem I’m working on.
Do you have pain when you play? What do you do?
