Chiropractor for Golfer’s Elbow in
Walnut Creek

Elon Bartlett is a golfer’s elbow chiropractor in Walnut Creek, CA who customizes every visit to suit your particular needs. At the beginning of care he’ll examine your condition and will really take the time to listen to you. Dr Bartlett will explain his approach, and what he can do to help you.

Chiropractic treatments at Acorn Wellness Center are long enough to always include soft tissue work which addresses the muscle tension patterns that contribute to golfer’s elbow.

Visits that focus on golfer’s elbow will also include instruction on stretching and strengthening exercises and ways to alter your lifestyle, all with the goal of preventing your golfer’s elbow from returning.

What is Golfer’s Elbow?

Golfer’s elbow, also known as medial epicondylitis, is a condition that occurs when the tendons in the elbow are stressed or damaged. This is usually a repetitive stress injury, which can result from work behavior or from improper form during sports such golf, baseball, weight training, or racquet sports. The pain is caused by damage to the tendons (that connect muscle to bone) whose function is to bend the wrist toward the palm. The pain can feel like an ache that radiates from the inner bump of the elbow, the epicondyle, down to the wrist.

Golfer’s Elbow Symptoms

Golfer’s elbow (medial epicondylitis) is usually a repetitive strain injury that causes pain and tenderness on the inside of the elbow. The pain may run from the inner side of the forearm down to the wrist. The pain is aggravated by certain movements such as making a fist, grasping things, or the proverbial swinging of a golf club. Other symptoms can include:

Elbow stiffness
Weakness in the hands and wrists
Numbness or tingling in the fingers
Pain when flexing the wrist (toward the palm)
Pain when shaking hands
Mild swelling and heat

Golfers Elbow Treatment

With any injury, it’s important to stop doing the things that cause your pain. If swinging a golf club causes your pain, you’ll need to temporarily stop playing. If you have a sales job and shake hands all day and that hurts, you’ll need to avoid shaking hands for a while, possibly wearing an arm brace to communicate to your clients why you’re not shaking their hand.

But to get yourself back into the game, or to get yourself back able to perform your job as soon as possible, rehabilitate your elbow by performing stretches to relieve the excess tension, followed by strengthening exercises to build up your capacity. Then, when you gradually reintroduce your activity, you’ll be strong enough to perform it well.

Golfer’s Elbow Treatments at Acorn Wellness Center will focus on not only creating proper movement between all the bones of the arm, but also focus on reducing the muscle tension pattern that is putting stress on the tendon in the first place. Dr Bartlett will perform specific massage techniques to eliminate the tension, and guide you on stretching and strengthening protocols to create an effective recovery plan.

Golfers Elbow vs Tennis Elbow?

Both conditions are repetitive stress injuries of the tendons of the elbow, but the pain of golfer’s elbow occurs primarily at the bony bump on the inside of the elbow (the medial epicondyle) while the pain of tennis elbow occurs at the bony bump on the outside of the elbow (the lateral epicondyle).