Forget the funny bone - elbow injuries are not joke
By Lee Sung-hun
We have been blessed with good weather for a couple of weeks.
In general, spring weather is usually good, but with the yellow dust many people opt to choose stay indoors. Autumn, on other hand, has provided clear blue skies and clean air ― ideal for outdoor activities.
Those of us who like golf look forward to playing a round in such weather every year.
Some avid golfers get out to the driving range to hit a bucket of golf balls. While taking multiple swings, some unexpectedly feel elbow pain. This usually lasts for some time, and the players end up seeking medical help.
If you touch your elbow, you may feel slight bumps, which are called epicondyles. The most common cause of pain in the elbow joint is inflammation of the epicondyle, which is called epicondylitis.
If inflammation occurs on the lateral (outer) epicondyle, it is commonly referred to as tennis elbow. If the pain is on the medial (inner) epicondyle, it is called golfers’ elbow.
But these problems are not limited to golfers or tennis players. Nowadays, they are quite common among housewives, office workers who use keyboards and others who use their wrists constantly.
Generally, epicondylitis occurs when the extensor tendons (used when extending wrist and fingers) and flexor tendons (for closing wrist and fingers) are overextended or repeatedly exposed to stress.
It occurs from the accumulated stress of small, but repeated loads on the muscles; not from a single, huge impact. When muscles contract, overloaded tendons often suffer microscopic tears.
If the tear is exposed to another load before healing properly and this is repeated, the pain becomes chronic. Golfers’ elbow occurs when there is inflammation in the flexor forearm muscles, while tennis elbow occurs in the extensor forearm muscles.
Pain from epicondylitis tends to radiate from the bumps (lateral or medial) of the elbow and spreads downwards. As we use our arms in almost all activities, epicondylitis patients suffer great inconvenience.
They may feel pain while doing ordinary daily routines, such as shampooing their hair, brushing their teeth, turning doorknobs or twisting the caps off bottles. In severe cases, lifting a glass of water becomes painful.
The most effective treatment is to rest the arm and limit use of the arm.
If the pain first occurred while exercising, it is best to stop doing the exercise altogether. Some patients mistakenly believe that pain from exercise can be resolved with more exercise. However, as epicondylitis is caused by repeated strain on the muscles, rest is essential.
With housewives, epicondylitis occurs from lifting heavy cookware, pots or grocery bags, and as they are part of the daily routines and cannot be eliminated, resting the arm is not so easy.
Even so, efforts should be made to limit use of the injured arm. When lifting a heavy grocery bag, the elbows should be extended and the arms stuck to the body so that the contracting muscles in the shoulder blade and trunk can provide support for the arm muscles.
Once epicondylitis occurs, the longer it is left untreated, the slower the recovery will be.
It is therefore important to get treatment as soon as possible. In Oriental medicine, acupuncture and moxibustion are administered to alleviate the pain and lessen the inflammation.
With severe symptoms, bee venom acupuncture is used as well. Heat treatment can help chronic cases. Overall, the treatment for epicondylitis takes time, and the pain gradually fades.
Although constant treatment is necessary to remove the source of the pain completely, some patients resume their daily activity once they feel a bit of improvement. This is a mistake because the pan may reoccur.
Once treatment is complete, strengthening the arm muscles will prevent a recurrence.
You can use light dumbbells to strengthen the forearms and wrist muscles with curling exercises, where you lift a light dumbbell in front of you, curl the wrists in and extend them again. Palming and releasing a tennis ball can also help.