Elbow & Arm Problems, Golfer's Tendinitis & Tennis Elbow in Ottawa ON

Tendinitis in Ottawa ON is most often an overuse injury. Often people begin a new activity or exercise that causes the tendon to become irritated. Tendon problems are more common as we age. Tendons are not as elastic and forgiving as in younger individuals, yet bodies are still exerting with the same force. Bursitis is slightly different.

Solutions for tendinitis can include massage, rest, chiropractic arm adjustments, sports acupuncture and acupressure.

​Problems with the shoulder, biceps or triceps or upper arm muscles may also affect the elbow, shoulder and forearm.

Tendinitis is almost always diagnosed on physical examination. Symptoms include:

• Tenderness directly over the tendon
• Pain with movement of muscles and tendons
• Swelling of the tendon

Most common types of tendinitis include:

• Wrist Tendinitis
• Achilles Tendinitis
• Posterior Tibial (Ankle ) Tendinitis
• Patellar (Kneecap) Tendinitis - Jumper's Knee
• Rotator Cuff Tendinitis - sometimes called shoulder bursitis
• Tennis Elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis)
• Golfer's Elbow (Medial Epicondylitis)

Tennis elbow and golfer's elbow are caused by more than just the game of golf or tennis. Many people suffer with arm pain for repetitive motions using video games, typing, touch screens, tablets and smart phones, as well as swinging a hammer or a baseball bat.

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Tennis Elbow in Ottawa ON

Tennis can be a great game to play. It’s a fun way to get outside (weather permitting) and be active. But as lighthearted as this game may be many of you already know that there can be a dark side to tennis – it takes the form of tennis elbow.

Tennis elbow, technically known as Lateral Epicondylitis, is a condition affecting the muscles and tendons of the forearm, primarily where they attach at the outside portion of the elbow. If you currently have tennis elbow you will have no problems finding that area because of the localized pain and swelling. Like golfer’s elbow, tennis elbow is caused by repetitive overuse of the muscles. The inciting movement is usually the back hand shot wherein the forearm muscles must brace the wrist to hold the tennis racket steady. Although equipment has come a long way, and rackets are much lighter than they used to be, repetitive stress and strain imposed on those muscles can cause injury and inflammation to build up. And if sufficient time to heal is not taken, an acute problem can turn chronic.

Here are some tips for what you can do to help ease the pain of tennis and golfer's elbow:

• Rest – Don’t push through the pain. Allow time for your body to heal and let the muscles rest from over-use.
• Ice – Using a cold compress for ten minutes at a time a few times throughout the day can help to relieve pain, reduce swelling, and speed recovery.
• Warm up – Make sure the muscles in your shoulder, elbow, and wrist are ready to play by warming up with some wrist circles, arm circles, and performing the actions to the song YMCA.
• Stretch – To help reduce and prevent tight muscles stretch out the forearms frequently throughout the day. We teach a patient stretching workshop that demonstrates stretches you can do for this problem.

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Golfer’s Elbow

Most people have heard of tennis elbow but golfer’s elbow is a little bit different. Golfer’s elbow, also known as medial epicondylitis, refers to pain felt on the inside of the elbow (looking at your elbow, palm facing up). It is the result of forces applied to the muscles of the forearm through a repetitive and strenuous motion such as swinging a golf club. The forearm flexor muscles have a common tendon insertion point right on the inside of the elbow.

Like any muscle, or group of muscles, if you strain them too much, too frequently, and don’t allow time for them to heal, you end up with pain. \the game of golf is repetitive swings that can put pressure on joints in the body including the back, knees, hips, shoulders and elbow.

The symptoms we see of golfer’s elbow include local tenderness and swelling at the inside of the elbow. There may also be pain either locally or down the forearm with active or stabilizing wrist movements i.e.: swinging a golf club, opening a car door, lifting a full glass to your mouth.

It is the repetitive trauma that brought on the injury so take some time to let your body heal. Tips:

• Ice – Using a cold compress for ten minutes at a time a few times throughout the day can help to relieve pain, reduce swelling, and speed recovery.
• Warm up – Make sure your muscles are ready for tee time by warming up with some wrist circles, opening and closing fingers in quick succession, and jazz hands.
• Stretch – To help reduce and prevent tight muscles stretch out the forearms frequently throughout the day.

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Our Treatment Solutions

Treatment for tennis and golfer’s elbow can incorporates multiple therapies, like laser light therapy, muscle and massage therapy, acupuncture, acupressure, chiropractic and physiotherapies. Our health professionals have been trained in sports acupuncture and muscle release therapy for elbow, shoulder and other overuse tendon/muscle/joint issues.

Muscle Release Therapy – Muscle Release Therapy is a soft tissue therapy that is used to decrease inflammation and contracted tissues (“muscle knots”) by helping to break up the tightness. It may involve either active or passive stretching along with direct pressure to break up adhesions within the muscles/tendons.

Chiropractic adjustments loosen the joint to decrease pain, restore proper movement, and optimize function. Adjustments can be applied to the joints of the spine but can also be used to help directly at the wrist and elbow.

Our patients also attend to our Patient Stretching Workshop or Golfer's Stretching Workshop to learn how to gently stretch, strengthen, and recover from these stress injuries.

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Need more information?

Many symptoms can be helped with preventative care like acupuncture, chiropractic, massage, physio and laser therapy. We strongly recommend anyone experiencing the symptoms discussed on this page, see one of our health professionals soon.