What causes Elbow Pain?
In active people, elbow pain is often caused by tension from hard training. These cases are commonly known as Golfer’s Elbow and Tennis Elbow. Tension in the surrounding muscle tissue and inflammation of their tendons is the root cause of elbow pain, or tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow. These conditions are classified as tendinopathies. This means the pain is caused by inflammation of the tendons that attach to the elbow joint. In both cases, the tendons become irritated and damaged, leading to pain and discomfort.
The causes of Tennis Elbow
Tennis elbow, also known as lateral epicondylitis, primarily affects the outer part of the elbow. This condition is often associated with activities that involve repetitive gripping and wrist extension, such as tennis, hence its name. This condition can also be aggravated by weight lifting or resistant training, so it’s not just limited to tennis players. When these actions are performed frequently, it can strain the tendons and create tension in the muscles of the forearm.
The causes of Golfer’s Elbow
Conversely, golfer’s elbow, or medial epicondylitis, impacts the inner part of the elbow and is commonly linked to actions that involve repetitive gripping and wrist flexion, such as in the golf swing. Similar to tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow can arise from tension and strain in the muscles and tendons around the inner elbow joint. Again, this form of epicondylitis can affect weightlifters just as well as golfer’s.
Elbow pain from Weightlifting
Elbow pain can arise from lifting weights either through lateral or medial epicondylitis. This is a common condition in both advanced weightlifters, and newcomers alike. The additional muscle mass created from the resistance training can cause additional strain on the tendons, creating inflammation of the elbow joint. Despite never playing any golf or tennis, weightlifters, body builders, and anyone practicing resistance training can start to develop elbow pain. In these cases, the root cause is the same: hypertension of the surrounding muscle tissue, creating strain and inflammation in the tendons.
How muscle tension creates pain
Inflammation and micro-tears in the tendons caused by overuse and tension is the true source of elbow pain. When the muscles surrounding the elbow are excessively tight, they can pull on the tendons, leading to increased friction and stress on the joint. This, in turn, triggers an inflammatory response in the body as it tries to repair the damaged tissue.
Unfortunately this can simply be the result of intense training. If you want to stay young and active, managing tension in the muscles and tendons around the elbow is crucial. Chronic pain and limitations caused by tennis elbow or golfer’s elbow can hinder progress in sports and physical activities. You can reduce the risk of developing these conditions or alleviate existing symptoms, by addressing muscle tension through stretching, strengthening exercises, and proper technique.
How can Neu Release Massage help with elbow pain?
By releasing the extremely tight fibers surrounding the elbow, we can release the tension pulling on the elbow joint itself. Deep tension requires intervention, to help you recover from pain faster. Neu Release™ massage uses a combination of targeted deep massage, trigger point therapy, and stretching techniques to help alleviate tension in the muscles and tendons surrounding the elbow, shoulder, neck, and hand. More effective than the conventional approach to massage, Neu Release™ is designed to get you feeling better fast.
During a Neu Release™ massage session, the therapist will work to release adhesions and tension in the muscles and tendons of the affected area. This will open your fascial adhesions so your tissues can stay open limber, releasing tension on the joint itself. The therapist will also use specific techniques to target trigger points, which are areas of muscle tension that can refer pain to other areas of the body. All together, their approach will be designed to help you recover as fast as possible.
In addition to receiving Neu Release™ massage, healing requires your active participation in self care and recovery practices. To minimize your tension on a daily basis, you can include self massage and stretching to keep your muscles and fascia happy and healthy. The combined approach of outside help and active self care is the best way to take care of your elbows. Then you can keep doing all the things you love and training hard. You don’t deserve to be limited by pain or tension, when you have goals to achieve.