The Muscular Causes Of Tennis Elbow And Golfer’s Elbow Injuries

The central role that muscles play in causing Tennis Elbow and Golfer’s Elbow injuries and pain.

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Outline Of The Major Video Sections

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• Golfer’s And Tennis Elbow are Muscle AND tendon Injuries – ( :35 min. in video)
• What IS A Tendon Exactly? – (1:08 min. in video)
• The Usual Suspects: The Muscles And Tendons Involved – (2:18 min. in video)
• How The Injury Starts The Muscular ‘Adhesion’ Process – (5:25 min. in video)
• The Three Key Takeaways – (10:18 min. in video)

Learn To Treat And Heal Your Own Tennis Elbow Or Golfer’s Elbow Right Here:

You’ll get instant access to a complete VIDEO program designed by a professional therapist to help you take charge and break your vicious cycle of elbow injury, pain and frustration!…

I’ll be your personal tutor guiding you through easy-to-follow lessons, where you’ll get the therapy techniques, key stretches and essential exercises you need to treat and recover from your injury at home.

Just watch the videos, follow along and start putting an end to your elbow pain today.

Tennis Elbow sufferers, learn more and join here: Tennis Elbow Classroom

Golfer’s Elbow sufferers, learn more and join here: Golfer’s Elbow Classroom

Transcript Of The Video

Now that we’ve taken an overview of Golfer’s and Tennis Elbow in the previous video, we’re going to talk about what causes this stubborn, annoying injury…

Especially about what happens in your muscles, because this seems to be somewhat of a blank spot in the current view.

What’s the insidious process by which repetitive motions – whatever they are – Whether related to work, tennis, golf or gardening – end up injuring you and causing you pain?

Golfer’s Elbow And Tennis Elbow Are Muscle AND Tendon Injuries

First of all, Golfer’s and Tennis Elbow are muscle AND tendon injuries…

And although the tendon is where the most serious part of the injury is – And what essentially defines the injury…

Let’s make sure we understand what the difference is between a muscle and a tendon.

Why does that matter?

Because, although muscles and tendons are two parts of the same unit, they are made of different materials – and they have difference purposes.

Another big difference between them is that they heal at different rates.

Tendons, unfortunately, heal much more slowly than muscles.

What IS A Tendon?

So, what’s a tendon exactly?

Our tendons are the cables that connect our muscles to our bones. Most muscles have a tendon at either end.

The muscle is in the middle and tendons connect it to a bone at each end.

And when a muscle contracts it pulls on its tendon, and the tendon, in turn, pulls on a bone, in order to move a joint.

Now, from my perspective, although a Tennis or Golfer’s Elbow injury is technically to the tendon…

It’s the muscle that causes much of the problem and where the injury actually begins.

And where we need to direct a lot of our attention and energy, to reverse the vicious injury cycle.

Because the injury is not something that just happens one day – Like a cut, bruise or fracture – and then we spend a few weeks gradually healing and recovering from it.

NO, this kind of injury is an ongoing process – And that process begins in the muscles long before you have symptoms…

And eventually it starts to damage the tendons – and then you get pain.

We’ll talk more about that in just a minute, but first let explore the specific muscles and tendons involved in Golfer’s and Tennis Elbow.

The Usual Suspects: The Muscles And Tendons Involved

In the case of Tennis Elbow, we have these Wrist and Finger Extensor muscles…

These muscles perform this movement, called wrist and finger extension.

And these muscles, like most, have tendons at both ends of each muscle.

The tendons at the wrist and finger end are long and easily visible – These cords under your skin on the back side of your hands are finger tendons.

These muscles on the back or outside of the forearm (the Tennis Elbow side) contract and pull on the tendons, which in turn pull on the bones they attach to and that enables the joints to move in this direction.

And conversely, the muscles on the other side of the forearm (the Golfer’s Elbow side) contract and pull on the tendons, which closes the hand – Which is called wrist and finger flexion.

BOTH sides of the wrist are involved in gripping, though.

Even though it’s obviously the muscles on the flexor side of the wrist that close the hand into a fist…

The wrist Extensor muscles still have to stabilize the wrist from the other side,

Which is why it can hurt when you grip things if you have Tennis Elbow – Even though that injury involves the Extensor Muscles.

Now, in some cases, people have injuries that involve the tendons at the wrist and finger end – Like I did about 25 years ago.

This is especially common among musicians, people who type a lot and anyone who performs a lot of small, repetitive motions, whether for work or fun.

But if you have Golfer’s or Tennis Elbow your injury is on the other end of these muscles.

If you have Tennis Elbow, it’s the tendons at the elbow end of your wrist Extensors that are injured.

And most of your pain is at – or just below where those tendons attach to your Lateral Epicondyle…

(And it should have been especially painful there when we did the tests in the Tennis Elbow assessment video)

If you have Golfer’s Elbow, we’re talking about the tendons at the elbow end of your Wrist Flexors.

And you have pain at – or just below where those tendons attach to your Medial Epicondyle

(And it should have been painful there when we did the tests in the Golfer’s Elbow assessment video)

In either case, these tendons (on the elbow side – The origin side) are very short and they’re a lot less obvious.

You can’t see them distinctly, like you can see the long tendons at the wrist and finger end.

At the elbow, they’re less than an inch long – Maybe only about half an inch or a centimeter, or so.

And what we have here are the anchor points on these bony knobs where the tendons of all these muscles come together into one tendon.

• At the Lateral Epicondyle – The Tennis Elbow spot.
• Or the Medial Epicondyle – The Golfer’s Elbow spot.

These are rather small, precise areas, but they can feel really big and angry when they’re injured and hurting like hell!

But, we’re not going to talk about these tendons – Which are the epicenter of the injury, just yet.

We’re going to get into the nature of the injury – What happens to these tendons in the next video.

Because, before we go there, we need to lay the groundwork – In the muscles.

How The Injury Starts

So here’s my perspective on how this nasty, vicious injury cycle gets started.

It seems obvious to me that the process begins in the muscles.

As these muscles are overworked they gradually become tight, restricted and shortened.

And since those muscles are constantly pulling on the tendons they’re attached to, this eventually reaches a threshold that starts to hurt the tendons.

Now, we’re not just talking about muscle tension here – Muscle tension is something that comes and goes…

You can be tense one minute and relaxed the next.

What we’re talking about is when layers of muscles stick to other layers – AND muscles stick to other muscles next to them.

This is something that gradually happens to everyone as they age, and it’s one of the reasons we lose flexibility over time as we get older…

Especially, IF we don’t do anything to minimize or prevent it!

Things like exercising… the right amount – the right way – practicing Yoga, stretching regularly, eating a healthy diet and staying hydrated.

And muscles that are under a lot of strain and load have even more of a tendency for this to happen.

What we’re talking about is a slow, progressive process where fibers gradually stick to other fibers – and the muscle slowly gets more and more restricted – losing it’s flexibility and strength.

These stuck areas are called ‘Adhesions’ – And to help you visualize the result, we can compare the Adhesion-formation process to Scar Tissue:

When you have a cut or tear (say, you cut your finger or sprain your ankle) a lot of Scar Tissue quickly forms during the healing process to repair the damage…

Whereas Adhesions form slowly due to the build up of tension, overuse and other factors – often over a larger area.

The result is very similar in the end, though: You end up with restrictions in your muscles that reduce flexibility AND functionality!

Which gradually puts more and more of a load on the tendon…

Which eventually starts to damage the tendon and cause pain.

And I see this insidious process at the root of most cases of Golfer’s and Tennis Elbow.

As I see it, this is the “missing link” – And reversing it is one of the 3 most important goals in my treatment approach.

For some sufferers it’s the most important goal – For others it may be the second most important.

These adhesions are not something you can easily just stretch away, though!

Not past the early stages, anyway – Stretching works more to prevent them, than to release them…

(Although people often stretch aggressively and use various rollers and things in an attempt to free them up.)

So, that’s why I believe treating the muscle thoroughly is a very essential part of the solution for Tennis and Golfer’s Elbow…

And I believe the best way to release those adhesions and / or scar tissue is with very specific advanced massage therapy techniques.

We’ll talk more about treatment strategy later, but for now I just want to drop a hint that I believe two very distinct therapy techniques are needed:

One that focuses on muscles – To break up adhesions – and one that’s just for tendons, (which have different needs when it comes to healing and breaking the cycle.)

This is what I spend a lot of my time doing when I’m working with Tennis and Golfer’s Elbow sufferers who come into my clinic.

It’s very effective, and I have a very high success rate using these techniques.

I know you’re probably thinking that I have years of experience doing this and that it would be hard to do it to oneself.

Well, yes and no. Sure I have a lot of experience, but these techniques are not rocket science.

Yes there’s a bit of a learning curve, and some effort is required.

As I said in the previous video, there are no magic pills or creams – or secret exercises or remedies.

And as I said these injuries can be difficult to recover from and challenging to ones patience. No BS!

But I will say that I firmly believe that some techniques are a lot better than others.

I believe that mine are the best – or among the very best – and you CAN learn them and use them to help yourself recover.

Most people can anyway, if they’re willing to put in the effort.

And by the way, I’m not saying that stretching and strengthening don’t have any place in the rehab process!…

They certainly do! Stretching and strengthening exercises have an essential role to play in a complete Tennis or Golfer’s Elbow rehab program.

It’s just that stretching and strengthening are usually not enough to release those adhesions we’re talking about…

Or to reverse the damage that happens to the tendons – Which we’ll get to in the next video!

So, to sum up, here are…

The Three Key Takeaways

NUMBER 1 – Yes, Golfer’s and Tennis Elbow are considered tendon injuries,

Because the tendon is, technically, where the most serious part of the injury is…

But, since muscles and tendons are two parts of the same whole…

AND especially since the muscle is the active partner, doing all the work, basically.

Treating the muscle part thoroughly is a very, very essential part of the solution…

The tendon is where the serious part of the injury is. But, since muscles and tendons are two parts of the same whole…Treating the muscle properly is essential!

NUMBER 2 – The muscle is where the problem starts

Muscles have a tendency to form these stuck areas called ‘Adhesions’ – Especially when overtaxed and under too much load.

It’s a slow process where fibers gradually stick to other fibers – And the muscle gets progressively more restricted – losing it’s flexibility and strength.

Which eventually starts to damage the tendon the muscle is connected to, which causes pain – In this case, Golfer’s or Tennis Elbow pain.

NUMBER 3 – It’s difficult to reverse this process without the right technique

This insidious process of Adhesion formation in the muscles, which I regard as the “missing link” at the root of most cases of Golfer’s and Tennis Elbow…

Is not something you just stretch through or roll out easily…

Yes, stretching and rolling are better than wearing a brace, immobilizing the area and doing nothing!

BUT there are better, faster more efficient ways to releasing those sticky adhesions, normalize the muscles and break that vicious injury cycle.

That’s one of the most important things I teach my members here at Tennis Elbow Classroom, if you’re curious…

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There’s still a lot to talk about when it comes to the tendons involved, where the epicenter of the injury is found.

So, I’ll see you in the next video, where we get into that! (Again, please subscribe – if you haven’t already, to get them all: Subscribe To The Tennis Elbow 101 Video Course Here

To learn more about my self-help programs for members, see below:

Learn To Treat And Heal Your Own Tennis Elbow Or Golfer’s Elbow Right Here:

You’ll get instant access to a complete VIDEO program designed by a professional therapist to help you take charge and break your vicious cycle of elbow injury, pain and frustration!…

I’ll be your personal tutor guiding you through easy-to-follow lessons, where you’ll get the therapy techniques, key stretches and essential exercises you need to treat and recover from your injury at home.

Just watch the videos, follow along and start putting an end to your elbow pain today.

Tennis Elbow sufferers, learn more and join here: Tennis Elbow Classroom

Golfer’s Elbow sufferers, learn more and join here: Golfer’s Elbow Classroom

And here are overviews of the subjects of Tennis Elbow Treatment | Tennis Elbow Exercises and What Causes Tennis Elbow?