The Role of Shoulder Stability behind the Tennis and Golfer’s Elbow

At Melbourne Massage and Treatment in Fitzroy North, we frequently encounter clients dealing with tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) and golfer’s elbow (medial epicondylitis). These conditions can cause significant discomfort and limit your ability to enjoy sports and everyday activities. While they are often associated with repetitive arm and wrist movements, it’s essential to consider how poor shoulder mobility and stability can contribute to these issues.

What Are Tennis and Golfer’s Elbow?

Tennis Elbow

Tennis elbow affects the outer part of the elbow, causing pain and tenderness on the outside. This condition typically arises from overuse of the forearm muscles, especially those responsible for wrist extension. Activities such as painting, or even prolonged computer use, or overstreching of extensor muscles can trigger this condition.

Golfer’s Elbow

Conversely, a golfer’s elbow affects the inner part of the elbow, leading to pain on the inside. This condition is commonly associated with activities that require gripping, flexing the wrist, or repetitive forearm movements, such as golfing, throwing, or lifting. In this presentation is the common flexor tendon that get’s irritated, and refer with pain.

The Connection to Shoulder Mobility and Stability

While tennis and golfer’s elbow are localized conditions, they often stem from dysfunctions higher up in the kinetic chain, particularly in the shoulder. Poor shoulder mobility and stability can lead to compensatory patterns that place undue stress on the forearm and elbow joints.

Shoulder Mobility

Limited shoulder mobility can restrict the natural range of motion for various activities. For instance, if your shoulders lack mobility, you may overcompensate with your forearm muscles during tasks that require reaching, lifting, or throwing. This overcompensation can lead to strain, resulting in conditions like tennis or golfer’s elbow. To maintain proper shoulder mobility, you want to ensure the use of the glenohumeral joint along your exercises and move it with specific drills, as this would stimulate the joint synovial fluid and maintain the joint lubricated. On the other hand, if the joint is hypermobile, we should look into how to stabilize it better.

Shoulder Stability

Shoulder stability is crucial for maintaining proper alignment during movement. Weakness in the shoulder stabilizers can cause the shoulder joint to become unstable, leading to altered movement patterns. When the shoulder isn’t stable, the body often compensates by engaging the forearm and elbow excessively, increasing the risk of injury. As mentioned in the paragraph above, this is what would occur when someone presents with a hypermobility body. In the hypermobility presentation, the ligaments are more lax and don’t hold back the joint movement as expected.

Assessing and Addressing the Issue

At Melbourne Massage and Treatment, we recommend a comprehensive approach to address tennis and golfer’s elbow effectively:

Assessment of elbow epicondylitis

Understanding the root cause of your pain is vital. During an initial consultation, we still mainly focused on your elbow presentation and addressed what movement reproduced the discomfort. But not only that. Throughout a tailored investigation, we will address what could be the root cause of the problem.

This way, it would be easier to develop a tailored treatment plan.

Treatment for elbow epicondylitis

• Massage Therapy: Targeted massage can alleviate tension in the forearm and improve blood flow, promoting healing.
• MDN: Myofascial Dry Needling plays a really effective role in tendinitis management. It focuses on targeting the underactive muscles, restoring the neural connection between the central nervous system and muscle, and desensitizing the painful area.
• Mobilisation: Mobilisation is an ideal technique to address mobility issue, and improve the range of motion of a joint. For epicondylitis presentations, the mobilisation could focus on wrist, elbow or shoulder. This would be based on the finding along the assessment.
• Strengthening Exercises: In the exercise program, we will initially focus on exercises that can desitentize the elbow area, such as isometric holds, and then move to eccentric and concentric exercises. In this second step, we would already focus on specific shoulder mobility or stability exercises, as needed.

Education

Understanding proper biomechanics can empower you to make lifestyle changes that prevent future injuries. Giovanni will guide you through exercises and techniques to maintain shoulder health and prevent elbow pain.

Conclusion

Tennis and golfer’s elbow can be debilitating, but addressing shoulder mobility and stability is key to recovery and prevention. At Melbourne Massage and Treatment in Fitzroy North, Giovanni is dedicated to helping you achieve optimal function and well-being. If you’re experiencing symptoms of tennis or golfer’s elbow, don’t hesitate to contact Giovanni or Book Now your 15-minute free phone consultation to learn more about a personalized assessment and treatment plan. Together, we can work towards getting you back to the activities you love, pain-free.

FAQ

Q: What are tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow?
A: Lateral epicondylitis, affects the outer part of the elbow, causing pain due to overuse of the forearm muscles, particularly those responsible for wrist extension. Common activities that can trigger it include painting and prolonged computer use. Medial epicondylitis, impacts the inner part of the elbow, leading to pain often associated with gripping, flexing the wrist, or repetitive movements like golfing or throwing.

Q: How are shoulder mobility and stability related to these conditions?
A: Poor shoulder mobility can lead to overcompensation by the forearm muscles during activities requiring reaching, lifting, or throwing. Similarly, weak shoulder stabilizers can cause the shoulder joint to become unstable, forcing the forearm and elbow to work harder, which increases the risk of injury. Both factors contribute to the development of tennis and golfer’s elbow.

Q: What are the signs of limited shoulder mobility?
A: Signs include restricted movement during overhead activities, difficulty reaching behind your back, and discomfort during routine tasks that involve lifting or throwing. These limitations can lead to compensatory movements that stress the elbow.

Q: How do you assess tennis or golfer’s elbow at Melbourne Massage and Treatment?
A: We conduct a thorough assessment that focuses on your elbow presentation, identifying movements that reproduce discomfort. This investigation also explores potential underlying issues related to shoulder mobility and stability, helping us understand the root cause of your pain.

Q: What treatments do you offer for these conditions?
A: Our treatment options include:

• Massage Therapy: Targeted massage to alleviate tension and improve blood flow.
• Myofascial Dry Needling (MDN): Effective for managing tendinitis by restoring neural connections and desensitizing painful areas.
• Strengthening Exercises: A tailored program that begins with desensitization exercises, progressing to shoulder mobility and stability workouts.

Q: How important is education in preventing future injuries?
A: Education is crucial. Understanding proper biomechanics empowers you to make lifestyle adjustments that reduce the risk of future injuries. We provide guidance on exercises and techniques that support shoulder health and prevent elbow pain.

Q: How can I get started with treatment?
A: If you’re experiencing symptoms of tennis or golfer’s elbow, don’t hesitate to contact us. You can book a 15-minute free phone consultation with Giovanni to learn more about personalized assessments and treatment plans. We’re dedicated to helping you return to the activities you love, pain-free.