Research has consistently shown that tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) is actually three to five times more common in golfers than golfer's elbow (medial epicondylitis). In a recent study of amateur golfers, upper-limb injuries were the most common golf-related injury, with lateral elbow pain occurring around three times more frequently than pain on the inside of the elbow.

Both respond extremely well to appropriately prescribed exercise and progressive rehabilitation. Rest alone tends to buy time without solving the actual problem.

Understanding Elbow Pain in Golf

The repetitive nature of the golf swing places considerable stress on the muscles and tendons of the forearm. Where the pain shows up depends on which side of the joint gets loaded most.

Although they occur on opposite sides of the joint, both injuries develop for the same reason. The tendon has been overloaded beyond its current capacity.

Why Golfers Develop Elbow Pain

Most elbow injuries don't happen from one bad swing. They develop gradually, when the amount of golf being played exceeds what the tendon can recover from. The usual contributors:

Where these injuries actually happen is worth paying attention to.

Why Exercise Is the Gold Standard

Historically, elbow pain was treated as an inflammatory condition requiring rest. We now know most persistent elbow pain is a tendinopathy, meaning the tendon has temporarily lost its ability to tolerate load. Rest may reduce symptoms in the short term. It doesn't improve the tendon's capacity.

An Exercise Physiologist builds a structured program that gradually rebuilds tendon strength and the surrounding capacity supporting the swing.

Because the golf swing is a whole-body movement, improving strength and movement quality throughout the kinetic chain often reduces the unnecessary stress reaching the elbow in the first place.

Returning to Golf Without Flare-Ups

One of the most common mistakes golfers make is returning straight to 18 holes as soon as the elbow feels better. Daily activities may be pain-free while the tendon still lacks the capacity to tolerate the repeated gripping and hundreds of swings a round demands.

A staged progression across the entire golf bag allows the tendon to adapt to increasing loads while reducing the risk of a setback.

Ball numbers should increase gradually with symptoms monitored over the following 24 hours. A small amount of discomfort during loading is acceptable, provided it settles afterwards and doesn't get worse session to session.