Therapy of the golfer’s elbow

Introduction

Compared to tennis elbow, golf elbow is less common, but the treatment is much more difficult and protracted. Especially the golfer’s elbow tends to chronicity if not treated early enough. Basically one differentiates the therapy The acute golf elbow should always be treated conservatively. Surgical measures should only be considered if the golfer’s elbow has become chronic (symptoms last > 6 months).

  • Of a “fresh” acute golf elbow of
  • An “old” chonified golf elbow

Therapy of the acute golf elbow

The following measures are useful in the case of an acute golf elbow:

  • Immediate load reduction of the activity in question
  • Local infiltrations with a cortisone injection (especially efficient in the first weeks of the disease)
  • Bandage brace for relief
  • Physiotherapy with transverse friction and stretching (not in the acute inflammatory phase)
  • Fascia therapy
  • Kinesiotaping
  • Acupuncture
  • Physical therapy, e.g. electrotherapy

Therapy of the chronic golfer’s elbow

The following measures have been shown to have a good therapeutic success in the case of a chronic golfer’s elbow:

  • Focused Shockwave Therapy (ESWT)
  • OP (minimally invasive tenotomy under local anesthesia)
  • X-Ray StimulationOrthovolt Therapy

The conservative treatment options

Instructed by physiotherapists, the patient can independently perform so-called transverse friction at home, which has a pain-relieving effect. By these transverse frictions stretching stimuli are set transverse to the tendon. This treatment method can be very effective.

It should be noted, however, that too much stimulation can further inflame an already inflamed tendon.

  • With lighter forms of the gulferellenbogen help under circumstances ointment envelopes with Voltaren emulgel or zinc paste federations.
  • With stronger forms of golfer’s elbow, the doctor may infiltrate. In this case, a combination preparation of local anaesthetic with cortisone is usually injected with a syringe (frequently called cortisone injection).

    The aim is to anaesthetize the pain in order to stretch the tendons well during this time by means of physiotherapy or independently. If the patient is a chronic golfer’s elbow golf arm, cortisone preparations can achieve good short-term treatment success. However, too frequent administration of preparations containing cortisone should not be considered, as cortisone can lead to local damage to the tissue over a longer period of time.

    Cortisone preparations such as Lipotalon® or Volon A® are used.

  • In order to calm the inflammatory state, an anti-inflammatory painkiller from the group of NSAIDs can also be prescribed temporarily. These include drugs such as : Voltaren ® Ibuprofen Celebrex ®
  • Voltaren ®
  • Ibuprofen
  • Celebrex ®
  • Voltaren ®
  • Ibuprofen
  • Celebrex ®

Bandages or braces often help patients to avoid recurrence of the disease. Orthopedic technical solutions such as elbow bandages or elbow braces are used in the area of the golfer’s elbow or tennis elbow as an aid to prevention.

However, elbow bandages or elbow braces are of little help in acute complaints.

  • The soft laser cold laser can be used for therapeutic support of the golfer’s elbow. It triggers an activation of the metabolism.

    Local pain relief is achieved and shortened tendon insertions are calmed and self-healing processes are supported.

  • The ultrasound treatments transfer heat and vibration into the depth. The vibrations trigger a kind of micro-massage, which can initially have a pain-increasing effect on the patient in the early stages of therapy.
  • A special form of electrotherapy, known as iontophoresis, aims to bring pain-relieving and medication to the tendon attachment and thus to the depth of the tendon.
  • Cooling and/or heating applications.

Acupuncture has proven itself in many cases.On the one hand, it serves to relieve the pain, on the other hand it can also stop the inflammatory process when the activity causing the pain, such as playing tennis, is stopped. Unfortunately, this is not always possible, especially when the pain-inducing activities are part of everyday life.

Acupuncture in the treatment of a golfer’s elbow belongs at best to the flanking therapy of the golfer’s elbow and is usually not sufficient in isolation. Especially in the early stages of a golfer’s elbow often only a short break is necessary. Before you start to practice “your” sport properly again, you should have a “training consultation” with an experienced trainer.

Often – as for example in the area of the tennis elbow” – an inspection of the training equipment (in the area of the tennis elbow: racket and stringing) is necessary. Remember: If you carry out all activities as before, the recurrence of pain is very likely. Stretching plays a very important role, especially in the healing of a golfer’s elbow.

A stretching stimulus makes the muscle belly longer and the tension at the tendon attachment decreases. Stretching has no direct influence on the inflamed tendon. It is therefore plausible that stretching in the acute phase is counterproductive.

As prevention after a healed golfer’s arm, regular stretching is a must. A fascial therapy should loosen adhesions that were caused by the inflammation. For this purpose, a physiotherapist or the patient himself can roll out the glued regions with a fascia roll. The same applies to fascial therapy as to stretching. Not in the acute phase!