ELBOW DYSFUNCTION

The Elbow takes a lot of stress throughout an average day. Typing, twisting, chopping, gripping, climbing, etc. all stress the muscles of the forearm, wrist and hand, and they all originate up in the elbow. Tennis Elbow and Golfer’s Elbow are the most common repetitive strain injuries affecting the elbow. Tennis Elbow is on the outer aspect of the elbow, and Golfer’s Elbow is on the inside. You WILL probably need to seek care for either, as repetitive stress on the muscles of the forearm cause them to shorten, which in turn leads to pulling of the tendon where it attaches to the epicondyle of the humerus, leading to a fraying of the tendon as it pulls away from the bone. Your body will heal that down with scar tissue, which is not unlike a fibrous glue. It sticks the tendon back down, but at a price, and that price is PAIN! Sharp pain to be exact. The sharp pain you feel in your elbow when you use your forearm is the pulling on the scar tissue. This scar tissue needs to be broken down. So seek professional help and get that taken care of. I personally like to use Graston Tools to dig it out, or some cross-frictioning of the tendon attachment also, followed by a heat source that draws blood into the area and helps flush the scar tissue out and back to the liver to be broken down and re-purposed. Stretching the tight muscles will help take stress off of the tendon, so you can do the following at home to speed up your recovery.