weak grip and elbow tendonitis

[tonymctones]

Does anybody know if having a weak grip contributes to golfers elbow?

[Montague]

It’s interesting that you mention this.
I suffer from mild to moderate medial epicondylitis (golfers elbow), and have noticed a slight correlation between pain and grip.
It seems that sometimes by altering my grip, and especially when the flexor tendons are more tensed, the elbow sensation is somewhat reduced.

That has led me to ask the same question as yours.

Wonder if it’s better to post this on the injury board, where elbow pain has been a hot topic at times.

In the meantime, start stretching frequently, supplement with some decent fish oil (if you’re not already), ice the affected area(s), and maybe use some kind of OTC anti-inflammatory for a bit to see if you can get this thing under control.
These remedies have helped me some. I’m not magically cured – I have good days and bad days, but the latter are less frequent and usually much less severe than they were six months ago.

[_bruce_]

Don't know if it's the same as discussed, but I had times where I couldn't close my fist - pretty painful.
Just went away.

[jpm101]

Or it just may be the way you grip the clubs that causes that elbow problem. Just as some guy's lessen the strain on the wrist/forearms and elbows by using a EZ bar rather than a straight bar. Do not know if you do, but some golfer's have special designed clubs to fit their individual hands/grip and also height. They tell me that rental clubs can sometimes cause a problem. All this being second guessing on my part, as never had played a round of golf in my life.

If you care to strengthen the grip/wrist/forearms, than you might try a Wrist Roller. The device with a round handle with  a rope is attached to it. At the end of the other end of the rope is a attached BB plate. Just roll the plate up until you reach the top position and unwind slowly. Hold it straight out in front of you or at a 90 degree angle 9like a mid point of a BB curl. If you want more of a challenge than get a longer rope and stand on a bench, box,etc for a longer roll up. Though I would doubt very much a need to do that. Can get an unbelievable burn at first.

If not wanting to buy one, than you can make one up yourself. Try using dowels of different thickness for added grip/forearm work. Good Luck.

[webcake]

Or it just may be the way you grip the clubs that causes that elbow problem. Just as some guy's lessen the strain on the wrist/forearms and elbows by using a EZ bar rather than a straight bar. Do not know if you do, but some golfer's have special designed clubs to fit their individual hands/grip and also height. They tell me that rental clubs can sometimes cause a problem. All this being second guessing on my part, as never had played a round of golf in my life.

If you care to strengthen the grip/wrist/forearms, than you might try a Wrist Roller. The device with a round handle with  a rope is attached to it. At the end of the other end of the rope is a attached BB plate. Just roll the plate up until you reach the top position and unwind slowly. Hold it straight out in front of you or at a 90 degree angle 9like a mid point of a BB curl. If you want more of a challenge than get a longer rope and stand on a bench, box,etc for a longer roll up. Though I would doubt very much a need to do that. Can get an unbelievable burn at first.

If not wanting to buy one, than you can make one up yourself. Try using dowels of different thickness for added grip/forearm work. Good Luck.

Theres some good info here, but i thought i should point out that most people who suffer from golfers/tennis elbow don't develop it from actually playing those sports. I had tennis elbow but i rarely play tennis. I could be wrong though, maybe this guy plays golf a lot

[pumpster]

You're right, golfer's and tennis elbow don't have to have anything to do with those sports.

Weak grip, how would one know that is was weak? The problem is caused by repetitive motions that aggrevate, that's the biggest thing. You might be able to take meds to lessen or remove the pain, but unless the motion's adjusted or removed in order to remove the cause of the aggrevation it's comin back.

[Montague]

JPM – Thanks for the tips on increasing grip strength – great advice as always! This is certainly an area in which I believe I need improvement. I actually own a wrist roller that I used to take to the gym. For some reason, by the end of my workouts, I never felt like using it. Time to suck it up.

Webcke – No, I don’t golf. I was actually referring to my grip on the weights. I should have been clearer on that.

Pumpster – You’re absolutely right. Tendinitis is often the result of repeated mobile aggravation. My girlfriend is a physical therapist and confirmed this for me when my symptoms first began. 

And yes, what is considered a weak grip is left purely to individual interpretation. Perhaps a better title for the thread would have been “stronger grip and elbow pain.”

Tony’s original question simply reminded me that tightening my grip on the bar often reduces the pinching in my elbows during execution. So it made me ask a similar question:
If gripping harder reduces pain, would a stronger grip help reduce the pain even more?

If anyone else has any experience with this, I’d love to hear it.

[tonymctones]

Or it just may be the way you grip the clubs that causes that elbow problem. Just as some guy's lessen the strain on the wrist/forearms and elbows by using a EZ bar rather than a straight bar. Do not know if you do, but some golfer's have special designed clubs to fit their individual hands/grip and also height. They tell me that rental clubs can sometimes cause a problem. All this being second guessing on my part, as never had played a round of golf in my life.

If you care to strengthen the grip/wrist/forearms, than you might try a Wrist Roller. The device with a round handle with  a rope is attached to it. At the end of the other end of the rope is a attached BB plate. Just roll the plate up until you reach the top position and unwind slowly. Hold it straight out in front of you or at a 90 degree angle 9like a mid point of a BB curl. If you want more of a challenge than get a longer rope and stand on a bench, box,etc for a longer roll up. Though I would doubt very much a need to do that. Can get an unbelievable burn at first.

If not wanting to buy one, than you can make one up yourself. Try using dowels of different thickness for added grip/forearm work. Good Luck.

in my case i think the original case of golfers elbow actually was from golf i can actually remember the swing that caused it(hitting out of the rough with a low iron) but that was well over a year ago and since then its been on and off...i think thats good advice on the grip roller and i did just grab one at academy. It just seems that even when i let it heal up it always seems to come back and ive never had a problem with it even though ive done activities throughout my life that probably should cause it the main difference now is that my grip is pretty poor which is why i was wondering if weak grip was related to it.

[jpm101]

Of course that injury may be nerve damaged related if it keeps repeating it's self. Sometime a sport massage (deep), Rolfing (super deep) or even accupuncture can releive things like that. Chiropracter treatment, with joint alinement, could help. In other words, if the natural path of the nerve(s) is returned to a normal state the problem could be solved. Good Luck.

[tonymctones]

cool thanks jpm i might go to a sports medicine doc if it gets worse or continues to be a problem