If you are someone who is part of the sport culture, you have likely done a wide variety of physical activity throughout your life. This could involve running, swimming, and of course, golfing. Many of the older adults that I work with enjoy golfing during their leisure time. In addition to this, golfing is a very common sport for individuals to do for leisure and fun on the weekends. Despite it being very enjoyable, there is sometimes a nagging injury that individuals get when participating. If you have heard of golfers elbow, you know exactly what I am talking about. Golfers elbow is simply a sore area around the inner portion of the elbow. Do you know why this may have developed in you? The answer may surprise you!
The Surprising Reason You Have Golfer’s Elbow
Golfer’s elbow, simply put, is an inflammation of the connective tissue around the area of the inner elbow. This is often due to overuse of the area, with a lack of strength and flexibility in addition to this. Resting will likely help to some degree, but to get you back into full capacity we need to be doing some exercises to help keep you afloat. Let’s look at a few things you can do to help combat golfers elbow. Each of the exercises should be done for 10-20 repetitions. Make to quit the exercise if you experience pain. If you have any difficulties with the exercise, consult our YouTube video above. You will need a hammer and a resistance band for these exercises. If you do not have one, feel free to use our Amazon Associate links to purchase one for yourself.
Hammer: https://amzn.to/3A3zgHg
Theraband Resistance Bands: https://amzn.to/3vPqSbE
Exercise for Golfers Elbow
Supination and Pronation
Grab a hammer or object that is top heavy. Place your elbow directly by your side, with your arm bent at a ninety degree angle. Next, you will gently bring your palm upwards, and then flip it over, making sure your elbow and shoulder does not move.
Ulnar and Radial Deviation
For this exercise, you will hold the handle of the hammer with your palm in a “hand shake” position, with your elbow still by your side. Next, you will just move your wrist up to the sky, and then slowly back down. Once finished doing this for repetitions, you will then grab the hammer upside down, so the head is going towards the ground. You will then practice using the pinky side of your wrist to curl it up towards your hand.
Bicep Curl
For the bicep curl, start with your arm completely straight to your side. Next, you will stand on your resistance band and grab it with your straightened arm. Slowly curl the band up towards the sky, bending only your elbow and not moving your shoulder. Make sure to use full range of motion.
Ulnar and Radial Stretch
After you have completed some of the strength exercises, you can now start to stretch out the muscles you used. For the first stretch, you will make a fist for yourself, with your thumb up towards the sky. Next, gently push down on your fist, so your wrist bends downwards. Hold for thirty seconds. Next, with you hand still in the fist, pull your pinky up towards the sky, bending your wrist upwards. Hold for thirty seconds.
Wrist Stretch
For this stretch, you will have your palm facing straight out in front of you. Now, gently pull back on your fingers for a careful stretch. Hold for thirty seconds. Next, place your palm out in front, with your fingers now pointing towards the ground. You will then pull back on your fingers carefully towards you. Hold for thirty seconds.
At the end of the day, if you want to avoid golfers elbow, you need to take some preventative measures through strengthening and stretching. These are a few ideas to help you do that. If you did need to purchase some of the equipment to do the exercise, the links are below. Good luck!
Hammer: https://amzn.to/3A3zgHg
Theraband Resistance Bands: https://amzn.to/3vPqSbE
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