Cortisone Does Not Treat Tennis or Golfer’s Elbow

(Newswire.net — June 15, 2016) Darien, CONNECTICUT — Sharp elbow pain is all too familiar to tennis players, golfers and even carpenters. The elbow is very much like a hinge between the humerus (the upper arm) and the ulna (part of lower arm). The actions that cause elbow pain primarily are supination of the wrist combined with extension of the elbow at the same time. This creates a torque on the connective tissue. Repetitive strains on the soft tissue cause thickening of the covering of the muscles called fascia. The fascia is highly sensitive and has an abundant nerve supply which is why it is so painful when irritated.

The overuse of the forearm can lead to micro-tears in the fascia. When the pain gets really bad some will elect to take a cortisone shot. Most people suffering from elbow pain just want relief but are unaware of a few important facts. The first being is that cortisone will not treat the problem. It is a powerful anti inflammatory that suppresses inflammation. Yes, it addresses pain but does not address the overuse that caused the pain to begin with. If you have diabetes you may encounter a spike in blood sugar. Another even more serious side effect is that the affected muscle tendon can rupture. Now you have a far greater problem. Understand removing pain is the purpose of a steroid injection. The removal of pain does not treat the cause of the pain.

There are many ways to treat tennis or golfer’s elbow without side effects. There is a wonderful soft tissue technique call Graston that is extremely helpful in reducing adhesions that form like scar tissue in the fascia. The tool used in Graston is a stainless steel dull edged surface that is rubbed in several planes. The adhesions can be felt by both the patient and practitioner while it is being done. This counters the thickened fascia. The treatment becomes even more effective when it is followed up with Cold Laser Therapy. The use of cold laser is not as universal as it should be. One glaring reason is there are no side effects from the use of light. The laser stimulates cellular regrowth through a process known as photobiomodulation. Just as plants rely on light to grow the cells inside body tissue also benefit from light. Cold laser provides high doses of light energy to ramp up healing.

Together Graston and cold laser therapy provide a safer more effective way to treat tennis and golfer’s elbow.