Understanding Golfer's Elbow
Golfer’s Elbow has another name (Thrower’s Elbow) that should help you understand it’s cause.
What causes medial elbow pain in climbers
Repetitive high-velocity rotation and flexion of the wrist. Another common stressor is repetitive gripping.
Even though it’s harder to see, climbers (at their limit) are using frequent eccentric flexion, rotation, and gripping at the wrist simultaneously. This is more pronounced on vertical terrain when athletes get fatigued (more velocity needed).
Of the 5 muscles and 1 ligament (UCL) of the medial elbow, the most commonly implicated muscles are the pronator teres and flexor carpi radialis. More specifically, the sensitivity happens 5-10mm away from the bone (medial epicondyle), can be worse in the morning, usually “feels” better with rest, and should be managed by non-operative methods.
Because of its slow progression, athletes might have a sudden onset that they attribute to be the cause of their pain. This can be misleading and often scares athletes from further loading. That is a mistake.
managing golfer’s elbow
According to Ciccotto (2021) non-operative management is the foundation. Only injections (steroid most studied) should be considered after a year or more of progressive rehabilitation, but HAVE NOT shown long-term benefit.
Priority 1 is cessation of the offending activity. That does not mean you have to stop climbing. But you do have to change the way you climb for a period of time (terrain, velocity, distance etc.).
Priorities 2 and 3 are to make the muscles strong. By making them stronger than we need for the sport, we create a larger “envelope of function”.
Key takeaways:
80% resolve in 1 to 3 years.
Modify your climbing as you heal.
So what about pre-habbing it so it never happens? That’s a ridiculous and misleading phrase. Prehab = periodization. Don’t be misled to think otherwise.