What Is Golfer’s Elbow and How Is It Treated?

Golfer’s elbow is pain at the bony bump on the inside of the elbow, where the tendons that flex your wrist and grip attach. Despite the name, most people who get it have never held a club, and the tissue problem underneath isn’t inflammation at all.

That last point changes everything about golfer’s elbow treatment. The tissue shows angiofibroblastic hyperplasia or tendinosis with disorganized collagen and an absence of inflammatory cells, which means rest and anti-inflammatories are aimed at a problem that isn’t there.

What Exactly Is Golfer’s Elbow?

A degenerative change in the common flexor tendon where it anchors to the inner elbow. Repeated gripping and wrist flexion load that attachment until the tendon’s collagen becomes disorganised and painful, usually over months rather than in a single moment.

Where it hurts and why

• Pain centered on the bony bump on the inside of the elbow.
• Tenderness directly over the tendon attachment.
• Pain on gripping, shaking hands, or turning a doorknob.
• Symptoms provoked by bending the wrist against resistance.
• Elbow pain spreading down the inner forearm.
• Weakness in grip strength rather than in the arm overall.

What the tissue is actually doing

• The flexor carpi radialis and pronator teres are most commonly affected.
• Collagen fibers become disorganised rather than inflamed.
• New blood vessels and nerve endings grow into the tendon.
• The tendon becomes thicker but mechanically weaker.
• Pain outlasts any acute injury by months.
• Loading, not rest, is what golfer’s elbow treatment uses to reorganise the tissue.

How common it actually is

• The prevalence of definite medial epicondylitis is 0.4% of adults aged 30 to 64.
• It accounts for about 10% of all epicondylitis cases.
• Lateral epicondylitis, the tennis elbow side, sits at 1.3% by comparison.
• It peaks in the fourth and fifth decades of life.
• Cases were most common in people aged 45 to 54.
• Symptoms usually build over months rather than starting with one incident.

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Related: Tennis Elbow Treatment

How Is It Different From Tennis Elbow?

Same problem, opposite side of the elbow, and very different frequency. Tennis elbow affects the extensor tendons on the outside, golfer’s elbow the flexor tendons on the inside, and the outer version is far more common.

The practical differences

• Golfer’s elbow hurts on the inside, tennis elbow on the outside.
• Golfer’s elbow is provoked by gripping and wrist flexion.
• Tennis elbow is provoked by wrist extension and lifting with the palm down.
• Medial cases are about 7 to 10 times less frequent than lateral ones.
• Prevalence figures put lateral at 1.3% and medial at 0.4%.
• Golfer’s elbow treatment follows the same principles as the tennis elbow version.

Why the inner elbow needs extra care

• The ulnar nerve passes directly behind the inner elbow.
• Nerve symptoms can accompany or mimic the tendon problem.
• Ulnar entrapment causes numbness over the small finger and the ulnar half of the ring finger.
• Symptoms reproduced by elbow flexion raise suspicion of cubital tunnel compression.
• Men are affected at twice the rate of women for elbow nerve compression.
• Missing this changes both the plan and the prognosis.

How a clinician tells them apart

• Location of maximum tenderness on palpation.
• Which resisted movement reproduces the pain.
• Whether symptoms travel into specific fingers.
• Grip strength testing in different elbow positions.
• Nerve tension testing at the elbow.
• Sensation testing across the hand.

Related: How to Prevent Tennis Elbow

What Causes Golfer’s Elbow if You Don’t Play Golf?

Most cases have nothing to do with sport. Occupational loading, general health factors, and any activity involving repeated gripping under force can produce the same tendon change.

Occupational and lifestyle drivers

• Smoking, obesity, repetitive movements, and forceful activities each showed significant associations with medial epicondylitis.
• Repetitive and forceful work together carried a stronger association than either alone.
• Trades involving hand tools, plumbing, and carpentry rank high.
• Kitchen work with heavy pans and repetitive chopping.
• Climbing, weightlifting, and rowing load the same tendons.
• Extended keyboard and mouse work in poor positions.

Sporting causes beyond golf

• Golf, particularly with a steep swing or heavy turf contact.
• Racquet sports using heavy topspin forehands.
• Throwing sports loading the inner elbow at release.
• Weight training with heavy pulling and gripping.
• Rock climbing, where flexor loading is constant.
• Any sudden increase in volume rather than the activity itself.

Why it builds gradually

• Tendon adapts to load slowly, over months.
• Load increases usually outpace tissue adaptation.
• Early elbow pain gets dismissed as normal soreness.
• Grip strength compensates until it can’t.
• By the time it’s painful, the tissue change is established.
• The same principle explains why golfer’s elbow treatment also takes months.

Related: Can Chiropractors Treat Repetitive Strain Injury?

What Golfer’s Elbow Treatment Actually Works?

Progressive loading, specifically eccentric work on the wrist flexors, supported by hands-on care and load management. Conservative care resolves the large majority of cases when it’s done properly.

What the loading evidence shows

• Adding isolated eccentric wrist flexor work to standard rehabilitation improved outcomes markedly, with DASH scores falling from 34.7 to 7.9.
• Sports-specific scores improved from 73.9 to 13.2 in the same group.
• Every one of those patients had already failed previous treatment.
• Physical therapy averaged 12 visits over roughly six weeks.
• Golf was the main symptomatic activity for 14 of the 20 patients.
• The gains came from the loading, not from any passive golfer’s elbow treatment.

What a full plan includes

• Physical therapy for the progressive eccentric loading program.
• Chiropractic care for shoulder, neck, and thoracic restrictions altering arm mechanics.
• Massage therapy for the forearm tissue around the tendon.
• Active Release Technique for adhesions in the flexor mass.
• Sports injury treatment for a graded return to your activity.
• Grip, technique, and equipment adjustments alongside chiropractic care.

How successful conservative care is

• Golfer’s elbow treatment settles most cases without surgery when loading progresses properly.
• Surgery is reserved for the small minority who don’t respond.
• Physical therapy loading beats rest in every comparison that’s been run.
• Modifying the aggravating activity beats abandoning it.
• Progress is judged on function, not on how the elbow feels at rest.
• Consistency of physical therapy and chiropractic care matters more than intensity in any week.

If you’re ready to find lasting relief from elbow pain, our team at RxWellness is here to help. Call the nearest RxWellness Spine and Health clinic to schedule your consultation today.

Related: How Sports Injury Rehabilitation Helps You Recover Faster

Do Injections and Braces Help?

Braces can help you keep working while you rehabilitate. Corticosteroid injections are a different story, and the evidence has moved considerably against them for tendon problems at the elbow.

What the injection evidence shows

• Corticosteroid injection gives genuine short-term relief that typically fades within about two months.
• In a randomized trial at the lateral elbow, corticosteroid injection produced worse clinical outcomes at one year than placebo.
• Recurrence rates were markedly higher in the injected group.
• Adding physiotherapy didn’t rescue those outcomes.
• Short-term relief can delay the golfer’s elbow treatment the tendon still needs.
• The decision belongs with your physician, informed by that trade-off.

Where braces and straps fit

• A counterforce strap can reduce load on the tendon attachment.
• Wrist splints reduce flexion demand during heavy work days.
• Neither brace changes the tendon itself.
• They’re useful as a bridge while physical therapy loading progresses.
• Wearing one indefinitely tends to weaken the tissue further.
• Fit and placement matter more than the brand.

What to be cautious about

• Complete rest, which weakens the tendon further.
• Aggressive stretching into pain, which irritates the attachment.
• Deep massage directly on an acutely painful tendon.
• Anti-inflammatory medication as a long-term strategy.
• Repeated injections in the same tendon.
• Returning to full load the moment pain settles.

Related: Can Chiropractic Care Reduce Pain and Inflammation After Injury?

How Long Does Golfer’s Elbow Take to Heal?

Longer than most people are told. Tendon remodels over months, and the honest range runs from several weeks in mild recent cases to a year or more in long-standing ones.

The realistic timeline

• About 80% of patients recover within 1 to 3 years even accounting for stubborn cases.
• Structured physical therapy programs typically run 8 to 12 weeks minimum.
• Pain usually improves before strength does.
• Grip strength is the more reliable progress marker.
• Recent cases respond much faster than year-old ones.
• Stopping golfer’s elbow treatment early is the main reason cases recur.

What progress looks like month by month

• Weeks one to two: less elbow pain with daily gripping tasks.
• Weeks three to four: tolerance for light loading improving.
• Weeks five to eight: measurable grip strength gains.
• Weeks nine to twelve: return to modified sport or heavy work.
• Months four to six: full load tolerance in most cases.
• Beyond that: maintenance loading twice weekly.

When to seek help sooner

• The NHS advises seeing a doctor if elbow pain persists after two weeks of self-care, which applies equally to the inner elbow.
• Numbness or tingling in the ring and little fingers.
• Weakness in the hand rather than pain-limited grip.
• Elbow locking, giving way, or swelling.
• Elbow pain following a specific traumatic incident.
• Symptoms that keep worsening despite modified activity.

That long-horizon approach is why our COO was named one of Five Impactful Leaders Making a Footprint in Healthcare and later selected for the Women Presidents Organization Women2Watch 2025 list.

Our acquisition of AllCare Chiropractic and Injury brought rehabilitation, hands-on care, and sports treatment under one plan, which is what a months-long tendon program actually needs.

Related: Pre-Season Prep: Strengthening Shoulders and Knees for Tennis and Golf

FAQs

What is the fastest way to fix golfer’s elbow?

There isn’t a fast route, and golfer’s elbow treatment that promises one usually targets inflammation that isn’t there. The fastest realistic path is starting progressive loading early, modifying rather than abandoning the aggravating activity, and staying consistent for at least eight to twelve weeks. Cases treated within a few weeks of onset resolve considerably faster than year-old ones.

Should I rest golfer’s elbow or exercise it?

Load it, within tolerance. Complete rest lets the tendon weaken further and does nothing to reorganise the collagen, which is the actual problem. A trial that added isolated eccentric wrist flexor work to standard care produced large improvements in patients whose previous treatment had failed.

Does a cortisone injection help golfer’s elbow?

It helps for under eight weeks and may leave you worse off at a year. A randomized trial at the lateral elbow found corticosteroid injection produced worse one-year outcomes than placebo, with much higher recurrence. Talk it through with your physician, but understand the trade-off before choosing the short-term relief.

Can you get golfer’s elbow without playing golf?

Yes, and most people who have it don’t play. Smoking, obesity, repetitive movements, and forceful work each independently raise the risk, and trades involving hand tools produce more cases than golf courses do. About 70% of cases build gradually with no specific injury behind them.

Is golfer’s elbow the same as a pinched nerve?

No, though they sit close together and can occur at the same time. Golfer’s elbow is a tendon problem producing local pain and grip weakness, while ulnar nerve entrapment produces numbness and tingling in the little finger and the ulnar half of the ring finger. Symptoms reproduced by bending the elbow point toward the nerve rather than the tendon.

Will golfer’s elbow go away on its own?

It often does eventually, with around 80% of patients recovering within one to three years. That’s a long time to wait when structured golfer’s elbow treatment can compress it considerably, and untreated cases are more likely to recur. Most people never need surgery, but nearly everyone does better with a program than without one.

Can I keep playing while it heals?

Usually yes, with modifications to volume, technique, and grip. Complete withdrawal from your sport tends to produce a tendon that’s less tolerant when you return, not more. The rule is that pain during activity should settle within 24 hours, and grip strength should be trending upward week to week.

Key Takeaways

• Golfer’s elbow is degeneration of the flexor tendon attachment, not inflammation.
• It affects about 0.4% of adults and makes up roughly 10% of all epicondylitis cases.
• Most cases have no sporting cause, with smoking, obesity, and forceful repetitive work all raising risk.
• Roughly 70% build gradually rather than starting with an injury.
• Progressive eccentric loading rescued cases that had already failed other golfer’s elbow treatment.
• Corticosteroid injection helps for under eight weeks and produced worse one-year outcomes in a randomized trial.
• Around 80% of patients recover within one to three years, and most never need surgery.
• Numbness in the little and ring fingers points to the ulnar nerve rather than the tendon.

Find Lasting Relief From Inner Elbow Pain

Golfer’s elbow is a loading problem in a tendon that stopped adapting, and it responds to loading rather than to rest, ice, or another injection. That answer is less satisfying than a quick fix and considerably more reliable, particularly for the cases that have already been through the quick fixes.

Our clinics build the golfer’s elbow treatment program, pair it with chiropractic care, and then stay with it. Relief comes first, then the months of progressive loading that actually rebuild the tendon, then a forearm that tolerates the next decade of golf, work, and lifting without complaint. A tendon rehabilitated properly once rarely needs doing twice.

Ready to take the next step toward recovery? Schedule your consultation online to visit RxWellness today and begin your path to relief.