Therapy and treatment

In therapy, it is especially important to find the causes of the golfer’s elbow and to treat them specifically. In most cases there is an overstrain of the forearm musculature, which has been caused by one-sided movements. The area of the approaches of the flexor muscles for the hand is mainly affected.

This tendon area can be treated by a so-called transverse friction. In this process, the therapist places the finger at a transverse structure and pulls it towards him. He can work with cold (ice pack or ice lolly).

The transverse friction is repeated several times and applied to different areas. In addition, massage riffs can be used to minimize the total tension in the upper and lower arm. The muscle skins (fasciae) in the entire forearm area should be loosened, as they are usually sticky.

These are loosened by the therapist by pulling along the fasciae. If there is a shortening of the extensor muscle group on the back of the forearm, it should be lengthened (see exercises). The excessively bent malposition of the thoracic spine (kyphosis) can be influenced by appropriate movement.

The resulting tense muscles in the back and arm can be loosened by soft tissue techniques, fascial techniques and massages.The shoulder blade should also be subjected to exercise therapy, as it can slide more poorly and cause imbalance, especially in the area of the thoracic spine with malposition. Restrictions of the cervical spine are also important to treat. Manual techniques and loosening of the short neck muscles show good treatment success.

Treatment methods:

Tapes
Bandage
Operation

>A so-called kinesiotape can be applied to support the therapy. The tape is stuck from the muscle attachment to the hand. The hand should be held in stretched position when applying the tape, because the tape is applied in pre-stretch.

A star-shaped tape can be stuck to the most painful area to increase the stimulus. The elbow can also be taped with two reins over the lateral bony projections of the forearm (epicondyles) and with several cross-strips, more stable to reduce the load. In addition, a tape can be taped along the ulnar nerve, which then runs from the armpit along the inner side of the elbow and along the inner side of the forearm to the hand.

However, since the nerve lies deeper in the tissue, its effectiveness is questionable. In general, the tape gives a mechanical stimulus, which is why an improvement in blood circulation should be achieved. Whether the effect is really great has not been proven, but the presence of the tape has a positive effect on the patient’s psyche.

The bandage therapy for the golfer’s elbow has been shown to be very similar to that for tennis elbow. If it covers the entire elbow joint, it provides improved blood circulation via pressure and thus better supply of the joint, which leads to less stress. Alternatively there is an elbow brace, which also reduces the pressure.

The bandages can be worn to support the causative activity, but it is imperative that an adequate therapy is carried out. If the conservative therapy does not work and the symptoms do not improve, surgery is often performed. In this case the doctor loosens the stuck tendons and usually takes an inflamed bursa out of the tissue. After the operation, mobility should be regained quickly and excessive tension in the muscles should be reduced in order to avoid repeated sticking of the tendons. Due to the usual risks of surgery, conservative therapy options are initially preferred for a longer period of time.