Elbow injuries....
Have you ever faced pain on the inside or outside of your elbow? If you are a golfer or dabble in a bit of tennis then i'm sure you have faced some form of tightness or pain within the joint!
But why do I mention these sports over anything else?
In these sports the elbow is the most used joint and one of the areas you generate most of your force for shots whether that be for your high force shots or low force targeted shots.
Golfers Elbow
Dissect the way the sport is played and you will notice the swing and force is directed from the outside arm. This means that if you are right handed the force of the shot comes from your shoulder and is directed down through the inside of your elbow and the inside of your wrist.
The elbow being the midpoint and a joint that does not fair well with rotation that is being forced to rotate between the shoulder and wrist means it is coming up against high tension!! This means it comes under high risk of injury if you are constantly playing shot after shot.
The way to minimise this risk of injury and continue playing the sport you love is to improve the mobility within your wrist and shoulder. This will allow the force to be directed from more highly moveable joints to take the pressure off the elbow. You will then want to increase strength surrounding those joints in your forearms and upper arms and even within your shoulder so the muscles that the tension off the ligaments.
Doing these two things in conjunction will create a stronger more fluid joint system that means you will be able to play better shots with a decreased risk of injury!!!
Tennis Elbow
Tennis elbow is characterised by pain on the outside of your elbow and is named that way due to being a very common injury in the sport!
Due to the positioning of the racquet away from your body similar to golf the force places tension around your forearms and elbow to be able to contain and produce force upon the tennis ball. The repetitive nature of tennis shots means the joint is under high load during the entirety of the match and it is no wonder why the outside of the elbow gets damaged in the process.
Most injuries are overuse injuries and both golfers/tennis elbow is an overuse injury.
The way to mitigate and reduce the risk of injury is to ensure you are highly mobile in your wrist and shoulder and have build strength within the muscles that surround the joints. Very similar to golfers elbow I know I am getting repetitive but more mobile strong joints are going to ensure you decrease the risk of injury and enjoy your sports and daily life pain free!!
The only difference I would add with these sports in terms of decreasing injury risk is warming up the joints in a similar way you would play the sport! For tennis use a band and try do some backhand/forehand shots, for golf using a band again try do some swings. Doing this will get the joints prepared for the sport and protect it more from the shock of competition.
Check out our video on instagram @dynamicrecov where we talk about these injuries and some exercises you can start doing!
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