Golfer's elbow: pain inside the elbow

The name says little about who gets the symptom

A golf arm, also called golfer's elbow, is not only found in golfers. Thuisarts describes pain on the inside of the elbow where muscles for bending wrist and fingers attach. As a result, a shopping bag, a screwdriver or sturdy tool can give you symptoms.

It's about more than counting sports hours. Homework, jobs and your profession together can require a lot of arm use. Sometimes a clear change is recognizable, but the cause is not always precise.

Therefore, start your own review of what you do, not who is responsible for the symptom. This is tough in my day offering a lead on a plan. I messed up my tendon is a conclusion that just doesn't follow out of pain.

Internal pain requires a targeted assessment

The place of pain helps to distinguish possibilities. Pain on the inside is a different question than the outside pain of a tennis arm. However, not every pain on the inside without examination can be called a wave arm.

Tell us which movements are tricky and whether there are tingling, loss of feeling or loss of strength. Around the inside of the elbow is also a nerve. Radboudumc describes That constipation can give tingling and reduced hand skills. If, for example, you are less able to hold small objects, that is explicitly mentioned in your story.

Usually a golf arm is judged with questions and physical examination. Imaging is not required by default according to Thuisarts. In the case of additional research, ask what uncertainty it answers. An image without such a question can produce more terms without the plan becoming clearer.

Use arm with less peak load

The general opinions focus on maintaining normal movement and adapting over-heavy activities. That means that you don't have to avoid every use, but you don't have to complete the same difficult task over and over again regardless of the response.

Choose one task to change. Can you temporarily alternate tools, divide a load over two hands or shorten the duration of firm holding? The usability depends on your environment. An opinion that you cannot carry out at work must be discussed again.

Think example: besides many handicrafts, you also do a series of intensive jobs on weekends. Then it might be useful to discuss that total weekly load instead of just looking at one exercise or one sports moment.

How you look at recovery and treatment

The NHG Explanatory Note stresses a good chance of spontaneous recovery and the importance of adequate activity reduction. Nevertheless, it may be a lengthy, annoying symptom. A favorable general prospect is not a date when your pain must have disappeared.

Additional treatments deserve their own consideration. For golf arm, Thuisarts says that good support for many treatments is lacking. Brace, splint and shockwave are not recommended. Thus, device treatment is not a logical automatic follow-up step because the pain has been in existence for months.

Guidance can still serve a practical purpose, for example if you cannot work or feel uncertain about using your arm. Ask what it aims to improve and how this will be evaluated. The aim should be more specific than simply “treating the tendon”.

Show the trickiest grip

Create a small hold card with concrete examples from your day.

The card is not a test with which you determine a wave arm yourself. It helps to make it visible which load is relevant and where the opinion should become more concrete.

Compare changes under similar circumstances. If your working day is shorter and a task is adjusted at the same time, you cannot tell exactly which part made the difference. You can discuss which combination is currently feasible.

Customize boundaries

Make an appointment again when ordinary tasks become increasingly difficult or you hardly use the arm out of fear anymore. Pain that keeps coming back without a clear plan is a good reason to reopen the conversation.

New tingling, loss of feeling or decreasing hand strength deserve separate attention. Also a red or thick elbow, a clear restriction of movement or symptoms after an accident should not automatically be considered as a low wave.

Bring earlier treatments and your expectations to the consultation. Ask what supports the diagnosis, what load can be temporarily different and when further research is needed. A careful plan makes room for normal movement and for re-evaluation, without promising a quick cure.