Golfer’s Elbow—How did it start for you?

[Pepperturbo]

17 hours ago, NosajNeelik said:

Weird because I had it a few years ago from golf. Obviously golfers elbow isn’t a technical term but usually that’s what causes it. I’m very fit so that has nothing to do with it. 

In the medical world it's called "lateral epicondylitis."   I am clinically educated.

 

I've been working out and martial arts training since football and competitive cycling years.  Being physically fit doesn't necessary mean ALL muscle and tendon groups are equally strong.  But it's not my job to tell you otherwise.

[NosajNeelik]

11 hours ago, GoGoErky said:

One can be fit and still have issues if there’s tightness or lack of mobility in certain areas. There’s a lot of fit people with desk jobs that have tight hip flexors which causes back soreness/tightness.

 

Theres a lot of fit people with bad shoulder mobility that causes issues with their arms. 

I understand that. That’s my point. Was responding to the comment that there’s no such thing as golfers elbow considering I got mine from golf. 

Edited November 27, 2024 by NosajNeelik

[NosajNeelik]

3 hours ago, Pepperturbo said:

In the medical world it's called "lateral epicondylitis."   I am clinically educated.

 

I've been working out and martial arts training since football and competitive cycling years.  Being physically fit doesn't necessary mean ALL muscle and tendon groups are equally strong.  But it's not my job to tell you otherwise.

Yea I get that. Again that’s what I said. Golfers elbow isn’t a medical term but it still exists. Farts are called flatula but no one ever says “phew, who flatulated?” 

[Jayjay_theweim_guy]

On 11/25/2024 at 7:54 AM, DB Golf said:

So I noticed during my round yesterday a slight pain in the inside of my trailing elbow. I can still feel it today and am beginning to wonder if this is how golfer’s elbow starts. If you have/had it, how did it start for you? Was it gradual? Do you wish you had taken action sooner?

As already stated, go see a sports medicine doc.  Now.

 

Mine isn't golfer's elbow, it's tennis, but they're sort of similar in etiology.  (I think:  there's a debate whether they're primarily inflammatory conditions or degenerative.  Or both.)  It came on gradually. 

 

Pistol shooting exacerbated it considerably.  I'm a lefty who plays golf right-handed, but shoots left handed.  Holding 3-4 pounds in my outstretched arm, while gripping hard with my middle two fingers, put quite a bit of strain on my elbow.  So did learning to take a divot with irons, lol.

 

Treatment involved:

1) Assessment by a sports med doc,

2) RICE after hard use in either activity, 3) (partial) Nitroglycerin patches to place over the area and most importantly, 

4) Rehab exercises for the forearm and upper arm muscles. 

 

Basically, a lot of wrist extension and flexion with light dumbbells, but enough weight to do numerous reps until failure on the third set.  Like 3x15, increase the weight each set until failure.  Flexbar eccentric exercises are good too.

 

The idea is to drive blood flow to a region that isn't as heavily vascularized as others, and also increase strength.  It works.  It's also quite painful.  Weirdly, the elbow pain absolutely ceases for like 60-90 minutes afterwards.  I also can't get my watch to fit for awhile after.  The body is weird.

 

See a doctor.  Extended rest does not help for being able to restart the activity after the hiatus.  Do not do things like cortisone injections into the joint.  Get a second opinion if the doc wants to do that.  However, injection of something like platelets or stem cells was going to be the next step if the nitro + rehab didn't work.

 

Good luck!

 

Edit:  thanks to @torbill for the suggestion of trigger point massage on the muscle attached to the injured tendon. I'm going to try that in addition.

Edited November 27, 2024 by Jayjay_theweim_guy

[Double Mocha Man]

56 minutes ago, Jayjay_theweim_guy said:

The idea is to drive blood flow to a region that isn't as heavily vascularized as others

 

I had medial epicondylitis (Golfer's Elbow) and 2 torn elbow tendons at the same time. I saw a doctor of sports medicine and went through prolotherapy treatment over a month and a half.  Using ultrasound he injected dextrose into my elbow and scratched the area with the tip of the needle.  Same concept, rushing blood to the area to heal it.  Not cheap, not covered by insurance.

[Moonlightgrm]

On 11/25/2024 at 8:54 AM, DB Golf said:

So I noticed during my round yesterday a slight pain in the inside of my trailing elbow. I can still feel it today and am beginning to wonder if this is how golfer’s elbow starts. If you have/had it, how did it start for you? Was it gradual? Do you wish you had taken action sooner?

For me, July 2022 hitting out of the rough. I went after an 8-iron really hard and felt pain in my right elbow/forearm. I played through it the remainder of the season using a variety of braces/straps. I had physical therapy from December 2022 to March 2023. Epicondylitis was the diagnosis. I felt improvement, but still have pain when working out, especially performing curls or pushups. I played 160 rounds in 2023 using tape and a strap. It bothered me a little during each round but I dealt with it after rounds with ice and stretches. I rested over this past winter, only doing cardio. The problem still reared its ugly head, early in the 2024 season. Whatever it took, I was playing golf! I played my 194th round, today. My elbow hurts. The inner muscle of my forearm hurts, but it’s not unbearable. Sometimes it wakes me up at night, especially if I roll over onto it. It’s a chronic condition for me. I realize I haven’t done myself any favors by playing daily. I will likely visit an orthopedist once this season ends. Two+ years is long enough!

[tatertot]

On 11/25/2024 at 7:54 AM, DB Golf said:

So I noticed during my round yesterday a slight pain in the inside of my trailing elbow. I can still feel it today and am beginning to wonder if this is how golfer’s elbow starts. If you have/had it, how did it start for you? Was it gradual? Do you wish you had taken action sooner?

That's how mine started .... and then one day I couldn't bend my elbow to brush my teeth without excruciating pain. Forearm bands work wonders, though.

 

And from what I've found from A LOT of research, the best way to "cure" it is rest ... and there is no way I'm missing golf. I only get like an 8 month season as it is.

Edited November 28, 2024 by tatertot

[dwboston]

6 hours ago, Pepperturbo said:

In the medical world it's called "lateral epicondylitis."   I am clinically educated.

 

I've been working out and martial arts training since football and competitive cycling years.  Being physically fit doesn't necessary mean ALL muscle and tendon groups are equally strong.  But it's not my job to tell you otherwise.

 

Often wrong but never in doubt.

 

There's lateral epicondylitis - also known as tennis elbow.  Refers to tendon pain on the outer side of the elbow (outer when the palm is facing up)

 

Medial epicondylitis is "golfer's elbow", which is tendon pain on the inner side of the elbow.

 

There is a "tyler twist" exercise to do with the Theraband for tennis elbow, and a "reverse tyler twist" exercise to do if you have golfer's elbow.

Edited November 28, 2024 by dwboston

[Moonlightgrm]

19 minutes ago, dwboston said:

 

Often wrong but never in doubt.

 

There's lateral epicondylitis - also known as tennis elbow.  Refers to tendon pain on the outer side of the elbow (outer when the palm is facing up)

 

Medial epicondylitis is "golfer's elbow", which is tendon pain on the inner side of the elbow.

 

There is a "tyler twist" exercise to do with the Theraband for tennis elbow, and a "reverse tyler twist" exercise to do if you have golfer's elbow.

Yes! My therapist labeled mine, medial epicondylitis. 

[llewol007]

I had this exact injury. It was more of forearm pain. It was due in part to using heavy shafts that were too stiff for me. One thing that helped was about 5 months of no golf and switching over to graphite shafts which really helped in the dampening of the shock on your body. 

[dwboston]

I had really bad tennis elbow in each elbow in successive years about 10 years ago. I tried PT, ice, stretching, meds, and the only thing that worked for me was the Theraband Flexbar and the Tyler Twist exercise.  I did 15 reps, three times a day, and the discomfort started to subside in a couple of weeks. I switched to graphite shafts in my irons and wedges after that, and it hasn't returned.  From time to time I'll get a twinge in my elbow, and I'll take out the Flexbar and use it for a day or so, and be good after that.

[NosajNeelik]

On 11/27/2024 at 7:26 PM, Double Mocha Man said:

 

I had medial epicondylitis (Golfer's Elbow) and 2 torn elbow tendons at the same time. I saw a doctor of sports medicine and went through prolotherapy treatment over a month and a half.  Using ultrasound he injected dextrose into my elbow and scratched the area with the tip of the needle.  Same concept, rushing blood to the area to heal it.  Not cheap, not covered by insurance.

Wait I thought it was “lateral” not “medial”. Now I’m really confused considering the source was from a trained medical term user. 🤣

[idrive]

Mats.

 

May I suggest that if you have to hit off of mats to get a set of irons with graphite shafts to hit off the mats with, if you don't already use them.

 

 

[Mike_C]

On 11/27/2024 at 6:48 PM, Moonlightgrm said:

For me, July 2022 hitting out of the rough. I went after an 8-iron really hard and felt pain in my right elbow/forearm. I played through it the remainder of the season using a variety of braces/straps.

Long similar history.   Hurt what felt like more my forearm hitting a PW out of thick rough off a slight upslope 10 years ago.  It was 2 days before the club championship, I foolishly played that weekend, but it seemed to mostly get better over the rest of the year.

 

Next year, win the club championship, elbow/forearm was feeling pretty good, but literally the day after my wife asked me to move our king size mattress, as I lift it, the shooting pain in my right forearm hits me again, this time even worse, I thought I might have torn something. Struggled the rest of the summer and then the elbow started to hurt on that side too off and on, but they got mostly better by the next spring.   That next spring, decided on getting new irons and tried moving to Modus 120 shafts, had been in PX 6.5 before then C-taper stiff, thought the stiff modus felt soft so I went with X, probably a horrible mistake.  Within 2 weeks my left elbow started to hurt, then my right, and still had soreness in my forearm.   It just got worse and worse and by the end of the year was lucky to play once a week, and not really able to practice much.   In September that year I had entered the state senior amateur for the first time, but withdrew the week before, I couldn't even hold a club in my hand at the time.....

 

Went down a long path of graphite shafts, which do help, therapy (get the TheraBand, it works), and slow work with light weights.   I can't say it is gone 100%, but most of the time I have no problems.   Getting stronger in your grip, forearms, biceps and triceps is a must.   You don't need to be Arnold Schwarzenegger, but it was the work with weights that seems to really kind of get me back over the hill.

 

A year ago I made a dedicated effort to get stronger overall and lose weight, have been going to the gym regularly about 2 to 3 times a week, and it has really helped too, but I have to be careful with weights too so I don't over do it. And I still use the TheraBand even when I don't have any soreness.  I felt confident enough to go back to steel shafts by August this year, and so far, cross my fingers it hasn't caused any problems with my elbows, but I still have an ache in my forearm from the original injury quite often, but its not when I golf, its more when I lift weights a certain way....

[Moonlightgrm]

4 hours ago, NosajNeelik said:

Wait I thought it was “lateral” not “medial”. Now I’m really confused considering the source was from a trained medical term user. 🤣

The medial side of a joint refers to the part closest to the midline of the body (inner portion of the joint). The lateral side of the joint is the side farther away from the midline (outer portion of the joint). 

[tatertot]

4 hours ago, Mike_C said:

Long similar history.   Hurt what felt like more my forearm hitting a PW out of thick rough off a slight upslope 10 years ago.  It was 2 days before the club championship, I foolishly played that weekend, but it seemed to mostly get better over the rest of the year.

 

Next year, win the club championship, elbow/forearm was feeling pretty good, but literally the day after my wife asked me to move our king size mattress, as I lift it, the shooting pain in my right forearm hits me again, this time even worse, I thought I might have torn something. Struggled the rest of the summer and then the elbow started to hurt on that side too off and on, but they got mostly better by the next spring.   That next spring, decided on getting new irons and tried moving to Modus 120 shafts, had been in PX 6.5 before then C-taper stiff, thought the stiff modus felt soft so I went with X, probably a horrible mistake.  Within 2 weeks my left elbow started to hurt, then my right, and still had soreness in my forearm.   It just got worse and worse and by the end of the year was lucky to play once a week, and not really able to practice much.   In September that year I had entered the state senior amateur for the first time, but withdrew the week before, I couldn't even hold a club in my hand at the time.....

 

Went down a long path of graphite shafts, which do help, therapy (get the TheraBand, it works), and slow work with light weights.   I can't say it is gone 100%, but most of the time I have no problems.   Getting stronger in your grip, forearms, biceps and triceps is a must.   You don't need to be Arnold Schwarzenegger, but it was the work with weights that seems to really kind of get me back over the hill.

 

A year ago I made a dedicated effort to get stronger overall and lose weight, have been going to the gym regularly about 2 to 3 times a week, and it has really helped too, but I have to be careful with weights too so I don't over do it. And I still use the TheraBand even when I don't have any soreness.  I felt confident enough to go back to steel shafts by August this year, and so far, cross my fingers it hasn't caused any problems with my elbows, but I still have an ache in my forearm from the original injury quite often, but its not when I golf, its more when I lift weights a certain way....

That's an excellent point ... wear the band even when your arm feels fine. It's better to prevent the pain than eliminate it.

[J13]

I got tennis elbow from golf and tore the tendon because of some advice I'm seeing in here. 

 

I had to get my elbow surgically repaired which was brutal so I'll leave you with this advice.

 

1. Stop playing golf (for now)

2. REST the elbow for a few weeks, use ice 1-2 times a day.

3. Buy a theraband ( I recommend the green)

4. After the inflammation calms down begin doing the exercises for golfers elbow (do not work through pain, start easy and slow for a few days)

5.  After a few weeks of theraband resume hitting shots at moderate speed and asses.  

 

 

[borker]

Hitting irons off indoor mats are full speed a few days in a row once caused me golfers elbow in my trail arm. At the time I was also coaching little league and hitting bunch of balls for drills as well, but I feel like it started hurting right after those few sessions indoor on mats. Now my tennis elbow was the top of forearm area near the elbow joint. IF yours is hurting internally in middle of the elbow then ignore this post and go speak to a professional.

 

I Fixed it with rest and a combo of three things (not sure if all all them helped or only one of these was the fix for me)

 

1)  A PT friend of mine suggested to get a tennis elbow strap and wear it for few days. Especially while active with little league. It was the kind that had like a little inflatable pad and that went right on the tendon pain when putting it on. It applied pressure to the area and actually really felt good to wear. I still have it somewhere.

 

2) I found some wrist exercises online recommended for this. Using 5lb mini dumbbells there are like 4-5 exercises you do to strengthen the supporting muscles and work the tendons in the arms through the elbow. If I remember correctly they were performed with elbows on knees while sitting and doing hammer motion, then twists, then wrist curls and finally inverted wrist curls (top of hand up towards forearm)

 

3) Found a Youtube video that suggested to "scrap" the tendon on top of forearm near elbow. This stretches it and gets blood flowing to the area. A plastic putty scraper and some body lotion or some sort of massage oil. I just used bunch of lotion.

Edited November 30, 2024 by borker

[rgk5]

Did this hitting a driver.  Funny, it never hurt then or after.

[golferdude54]

If you have X7’s or PX 7.0 as your iron shafts and Z-Cord grips and the only driving range shots you hit are off mats, stop. Same with setting up with a locked out left arm at address. 
 

Equipment, environment (mats vs grass range), and swing can all cause golfers’ elbow. Even Tiger dulls his irons’ harshness with a wooden dowel inside his X100’s, he’s done it his whole career. 

[KMeloney]

19 hours ago, J13 said:

I got tennis elbow from golf and tore the tendon because of some advice I'm seeing in here. 

Tore it from advice you got here?? What advice?

[J13]

On 11/30/2024 at 3:20 PM, KMeloney said:

Tore it from advice you got here?? What advice?

 

Not this thread but some of the advice in the thread which circulates the board.  For example wearing a tennis elbow strap like the Bandit.  Masking pain allowed me to resume normal activities instead of listening to my body like I should have.  I ended up removing the pain but not the stress on the tendon so I just kept hammering away on it and eventually I couldn't lift a toothbrush without extreme pain.  The tendon one day just said I'm done and surgery was my only option for a full recovery.

 

Everyone is trying to help and I appreciate that but I just don't want to see anyone else on this board deal with what i did.  It sucked.  I wish I would have listened to my body and shut the engines down for a few months.  

Edited December 1, 2024 by J13

[st1800e]

33 minutes ago, J13 said:

 

Not this thread but some of the advice in the thread which circulates the board.  For example wearing a tennis elbow strap like the Bandit.  Masking pain allowed me to resume normal activities instead of listening to my body like I should have.  I ended up removing the pain but not the stress on the tendon so I just kept hammering away on it and eventually I couldn't lift a toothbrush without extreme pain.  The tendon one day just said I'm done and surgery was my only option for a full recovery.

 

Everyone is trying to help and I appreciate that but I just don't want to see anyone else on this board deal with what i did.  It sucked.  I wish I would have listened to my body and shut the engines down for a few months.  

Yes, the straps just mask the pain, should only be used short term. Not a long term solution, just a crutch.  I cringe when I hear, see and read about their long term use.  
 

 

[GoGoErky]

1 hour ago, J13 said:

Everyone is trying to help and I appreciate that but I just don't want to see anyone else on this board deal with what i did.  It sucked.  I wish I would have listened to my body and shut the engines down for a few months.  

The only help when it comes to medical issue is go get checked out by a medical professional.

 

[Double Mocha Man]

3 hours ago, J13 said:

 

Not this thread but some of the advice in the thread which circulates the board.  For example wearing a tennis elbow strap like the Bandit.  Masking pain allowed me to resume normal activities instead of listening to my body like I should have.  I ended up removing the pain but not the stress on the tendon so I just kept hammering away on it and eventually I couldn't lift a toothbrush without extreme pain.  The tendon one day just said I'm done and surgery was my only option for a full recovery.

 

Everyone is trying to help and I appreciate that but I just don't want to see anyone else on this board deal with what i did.  It sucked.  I wish I would have listened to my body and shut the engines down for a few months.  

 

As I understand it cortisone shots are in the same category.  Masking pain more than healing things.  And with repeated use there can be long term damage.

[Cwing]

I guess I’m unique in this thread. I know it’s not the proper medical terms but tennis elbow in the left, golfers elbow in the right. I’m a right handed golfer yet neither issue came from golf.

 

My issues started in the gym. I started working out in Jan, 2024 after a very long layoff. I started slow with dumbbells only. I had zero issues and some very positive results. About 4 months in, I tried to switch to some smith machine work to vary the routines. Both elbows flared up within the first week. After a few weeks I went back to dumbbells.

 

Between Jan - Sept, 24 I also dropped 54-lbs and gained considerable distance with every club in the bag but I had to give up bicep curls.

Mine has not affected the ability to golf. It’s there but not that bad. I was elbow sleeves in the gym. Through drills, both are getting better but it’s been slow. The left (tennis) elbow is worse than the right (golfers) elbow.

Edited December 2, 2024 by Cwing

[J13]

15 hours ago, Double Mocha Man said:

 

As I understand it cortisone shots are in the same category.  Masking pain more than healing things.  And with repeated use there can be long term damage.

Go those too.  Masking pain is not a solution long term.  

[RSinSG]

15 hours ago, Double Mocha Man said:

As I understand it cortisone shots are in the same category.  Masking pain more than healing things.  And with repeated use there can be long term damage.

This may be true but I’m the exception if it is. I had tendinitides in my elbows due to repeated motions at work. I went to MD’s and tried lots of PT and even agreed to acupuncture when my wife suggested it. Nothing eased the pain likely because I was still doing the same work that caused it. My friend who was an orthopedic surgeon suggested I try cortisone injections and I agreed. The pain was gone within days and I was pain free for 8 years. Maybe not having pain allowed me to build strength in the elbows. I did repeat the injections when the pain started again and that was 20 years ago. I’m not suggesting it’s a good option for everyone- just pointing out it can be successful.

[KMeloney]

18 hours ago, J13 said:

 

Not this thread but some of the advice in the thread which circulates the board.  For example wearing a tennis elbow strap like the Bandit.  Masking pain allowed me to resume normal activities instead of listening to my body like I should have.  I ended up removing the pain but not the stress on the tendon so I just kept hammering away on it and eventually I couldn't lift a toothbrush without extreme pain.  The tendon one day just said I'm done and surgery was my only option for a full recovery.

 

Everyone is trying to help and I appreciate that but I just don't want to see anyone else on this board deal with what i did.  It sucked.  I wish I would have listened to my body and shut the engines down for a few months.  

Sorry to hear that. The OVERWHELMING majority of advice on this subject is to shut down the activities that have led to the condition and to give it time to heal. It sounds like you took the advice that you wanted to take, not the advice you knew you should.

 

If it's any consolation, a buddy of mine took all of the actions (including doing PRP injections) he should have taken to try to remedy his issue, but ended up needing surgery. Maybe you were headed for surgery all along.

[ezra76]

Mine was long gone after swing adjustments, graphite iron shafts and getting much stonger in the correct areas of the forearms.

 

It briefly started to resurface when I was working on a bigger/different hip turn from a lesson and trying to bring my speed back up. Pretty sure I was getting into a stuck position and trying to power through it with my right elbow. Also, I was using an old steel shaft 5i into my net. Club is not the issue though as I'll hit 500+ shots in a day with it sometimes and was never an issue until trying a pretty drastic new move at near 100% speed.