Tennis and Golfer’s Elbow Care
in Chippewa Falls
A tight grip on a racket or a follow-through on a golf swing shouldn’t leave you wincing for the rest of the day. Chippewa Falls Chiropractor Dr. Jason Denn evaluates both tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow to determine which tendons are involved and what may be keeping the irritation going.
Same Joint, Opposite Injury
Tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow both involve inflamed tendons at the elbow, but they sit on opposite sides of the joint. Tennis elbow affects the tendons on the outside that help extend the wrist, while golfer’s elbow affects the tendons on the inside that help flex it. Either one can show up from a tennis swing, a pickleball backhand, or a round of golf, since the two conditions are defined by which tendons are irritated, not which sport caused it.
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Why Desk Workers and Weekend Athletes Both End Up Here
Repetitive gripping and wrist motion is the common thread behind both conditions, regardless of the activity that triggers it. Both conditions can develop through repeated strain or a sudden increase in activity, including:
- Racquet sports that repeatedly load the extensor tendons
- Golf swings that stress the flexor tendons on the follow through
- Sudden increases in activity without conditioning
- Repetitive gripping tasks at work or around the house
- Poor equipment fit, like a racket grip that’s too small
- Prior elbow strain that never fully healed
Where Elbow Pain Shows Up and When to Have It Checked
These two conditions are usually easy to tell apart because the pain stays localized. With tennis elbow, pressing on the outside of the elbow reproduces the pain immediately. With golfer’s elbow, the same pressure on the inside often sends pain shooting down into the fingers. That precision means the diagnosis rarely requires guesswork, even though treating the tendons involved takes time regardless of which side is affected.
Pain that’s sharply localized to one side of the elbow, discomfort that radiates into the fingers, or a grip that has noticeably weakened are signs worth having evaluated rather than waiting out.
Breaking Up the Damage Before Building Strength Back
Treatment at Denn Chiropractic typically starts with heat and ultrasound to calm the irritated tendon, followed by hands-on work to break up adhesions where the tendon attaches to the bone. That soft tissue work is uncomfortable in the moment, but it’s what allows the tendon to actually heal instead of staying stuck in a cycle of re-irritation.
From there, care progresses into light resistance exercises, often starting with nothing more than a soup can or a light hand weight, paired with heat or ice to keep inflammation moving out as the tendon strengthens. One high school athlete came in just days before an important match with a textbook case of tennis elbow. After two ultrasound sessions and a round of hands-on soft tissue work the day before his match, he went on to shoot the best round of his season.
Get Back to a Full Swing Without the Wince
If elbow pain is changing how you play or how you work, our chiropractor can help you find out which tendons are involved and get a plan started. Contact us today to schedule your exam.
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