Golfer's Elbow: Inner Elbow Pain From Golf and What to Do
Inner elbow pain from golf often follows a jump in range time or hitting the ground. Learn the usual pattern, warning signs, and how to get back to swinging.
Inner elbow pain from golf usually comes from the tendons that grip and turn the forearm being asked to do more than they are ready for. Extra range buckets, hitting off mats, chunked shots, and a tight grip all add up. Most of these tendon problems settle with a temporary cut in swinging volume and gradual strengthening rather than complete rest. Despite the name, outer elbow pain is also common in golfers.
What might be going on?
There is rarely one diagnosis that can be proven from a symptom or search phrase alone. For this type of problem, common patterns include inner elbow tendon irritation from repeated gripping and impact, often on the trail arm, outer elbow tendon irritation, often on the lead arm, especially in amateur golfers, flare-ups after hitting off hard mats or taking large divots, forearm overload from a grip that is too tight or grips that are worn or the wrong size, pain that lingers because daily gripping, lifting, and typing keep loading the same tendons. How the problem started, where symptoms are located, what movements provoke it, and how function has changed are the clues that make those possibilities more or less likely.
Whether pain is on the inner bony point of the elbow, the outer side, or spread through the forearm. Whether it started gradually or with one fat shot, root, or rock. Which actions bring it on: gripping the club, carrying the bag, shaking hands, lifting a jug, or opening jars. Whether there is tingling into the ring and little fingers. Whether range time, mats, or new clubs or grips were added recently. Those details are useful because they describe behavior rather than simply giving the pain a label.
Warning signs: when to get checked
Self-directed rehabilitation is not appropriate for every injury. Seek prompt medical evaluation for:
- A pop at the elbow with sudden weakness, bruising, or a change in the shape of the arm
- Significant swelling, or you cannot fully bend or straighten the elbow
- Numbness, tingling, or weakness in the hand that is constant or getting worse
- A hot, red, swollen elbow, especially with fever
- Pain that started after a fall onto the arm
What should you do first?
Cut range sessions back and hit off grass instead of mats where you can. The goal is to keep useful movement while reducing the specific load that is clearly overwhelming the area.
Keep playing short-game shots if they do not make the elbow worse the next day. The goal is to keep useful movement while reducing the specific load that is clearly overwhelming the area.
Lighten your grip pressure and check whether your grips are worn. The goal is to keep useful movement while reducing the specific load that is clearly overwhelming the area.
Notice daily gripping and lifting that keeps the tendon irritated, and spread those loads out. The goal is to keep useful movement while reducing the specific load that is clearly overwhelming the area.
Use the next-morning check: if the elbow is no worse than before you played, that amount was likely tolerable. The goal is to keep useful movement while reducing the specific load that is clearly overwhelming the area.
How does recovery usually progress?
Recovery should become progressively more functional rather than stopping as soon as pain decreases. A typical progression moves through grip, carry, and lift everyday objects without a flare-up, build forearm, wrist, and grip strength with slow, controlled loading, strengthen the shoulder and upper back so the forearm is not doing all the work, return to chipping and pitching, then half swings, full swings, and longer range sessions. Your response to each level helps determine when to progress.
General information can only take you so far.
What you should do next depends on exactly what happened, where your symptoms are, how they are behaving and what you need to get back to. BounceBack uses those answers to point you to the right next step, and builds a Personalized Recovery Roadmap when self-directed rehabilitation is appropriate.
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