DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I’ve been trying to brush up my golf game by regularly hitting the driving range and playing more often. But lately, I’ve noticed a pretty painful twinge in my right wrist during my swing. What might be going on?

ANSWER: Summer is a great time to get out on the course and take your golf game to the next level. Wrist injuries from golf — as with other swing sports like pickleball, tennis and baseball — tend to be from overuse and repeated motion, not from an acute injury such as a fall.

These injuries affect the tendons in your hands, wrists, elbows and shoulders. Tendons are the tough cords that connect muscles to bones. Referred to as tendinopathy, tendon injuries are marked by the tendon becoming inflamed, thickening, snapping or moving out of its normal groove, and causing pain. Some common swing-sport injuries are:

Tendon injuries are seen most often in older adults because their tendons are less supple. Women who experience perimenopause or menopause tend to have lower estrogen levels, which play a role in keeping tendons flexible.

Treating tendon injuries

With a tendon tear or calcific tendonitis, inflammation plays a role, and controlling it will help control discomfort. Ice and taking over-the-counter pain medications are the first line of treatment. With chronic overuse tendinopathy, heat and topical pain relievers may provide pain control. If these approaches don’t relieve the pain, other treatments include:

Staying hydrated, getting enough sleep and eating adequate amounts of protein can help your body recover and even heal micro-injuries as they occur.

Playing it safe

Wrist injuries can even occur the first time you play. That’s because you’re not accustomed to the force of the swing and the load on tendons and tissues as that force travels through the club, racket or bat. So whether you’re just picking up a swing sport or increasing the amount you play, it’s important to:

Unlike schoolchildren, adults don’t get recess, so we need to find ways to play. That includes returning to a sport, playing more often or picking up a new sport. For overall physical health and well-being, it’s key for adults to keep moving.

—Alecia Gende, D.O., Sports and Emergency Medicine, Mayo Clinic Health System, La Crosse, Onalaska and Sparta, Wisconsin

(Mayo Clinic Q & A is an educational resource and doesn’t replace regular medical care. This Mayo Clinic Q&A represents inquiries this healthcare expert has received from patients. For more information, visit www.mayoclinic.org.)

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