Pain on the inside of your elbow can make simple activities such as gripping a coffee mug, lifting a bag, using tools, or swinging a golf club uncomfortable. One common cause is golfer’s elbow, medically known as medial epicondylitis.
Despite its name, you do not have to play golf to develop it. Golfer’s elbow is an overuse tendinopathy involving the muscles and tendons responsible for gripping, bending the wrist, and rotating the forearm. Repetitive gripping, lifting, throwing, manual work, and certain sports can place repeated stress on this area.
If you are wondering how to deal with golfer’s elbow, treatment usually starts with reducing the activities aggravating the tendon, followed by gradual stretching, strengthening, and correction of movements that continue to overload the elbow.
How to Deal With Golfer’s Elbow at Home
Many cases improve with conservative care. The goal is not to completely stop using the arm for an extended period, but to reduce painful loading while gradually rebuilding the tendon’s ability to handle activity.
Rest and Modify Painful Activities
Temporarily reduce movements that repeatedly trigger pain, especially forceful gripping, wrist flexion, throwing, or repetitive forearm rotation.
For golfers, that may mean taking a temporary break from full swings. At work, changing how you lift or grip objects may reduce repeated stress on the tendon.
Use Ice for Short-Term Golfer’s Elbow Relief
Ice may temporarily reduce pain after an activity aggravates your elbow. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons recommends applying ice for approximately 20 minutes at a time and keeping a towel between the ice and your skin.
Ice can help with symptoms, but it does not replace rehabilitation of the affected tendon.
Begin Gentle Stretching
Once movement is comfortable enough, gentle wrist and forearm stretching can help restore flexibility.
Stretching should be controlled rather than aggressive. If a movement produces sharp or increasing pain, stop and have the elbow evaluated before continuing.
Strengthen the Forearm Gradually
Strengthening is one of the most important parts of recovery. Exercises often target the wrist flexor and forearm muscles involved in gripping and rotation.
Eccentric exercises, in which the muscle works while gradually lengthening under resistance, are commonly included in rehabilitation programs for golfer’s elbow.
The amount of resistance should increase gradually as symptoms and strength improve.
Consider a Counterforce Brace
A counterforce brace worn around the upper forearm may help reduce stress placed on the affected tendon during certain activities.
A brace should support recovery rather than make it possible to continue repeatedly performing movements that cause significant pain.
Review Your Technique and Ergonomics
If the activity that caused the problem does not change, elbow pain can return.
Golfers may benefit from reviewing grip pressure, swing mechanics, and equipment. People who develop symptoms from work should look at repetitive lifting, gripping force, tool position, workstation setup, and opportunities for rest breaks.
What Is the Best Way to Treat Golfer’s Elbow?
There is no single treatment that works best for every person. A more effective approach is to identify what is overloading the tendon, control painful activity, restore movement, and progressively rebuild strength.
Professional conservative care may include several approaches.
Chiropractic Care
A chiropractor can evaluate the elbow as well as movements involving the wrist, forearm, shoulder, and surrounding joints.
Depending on the examination findings, care may include joint mobility work, soft tissue techniques, movement assessment, and exercises designed to restore comfortable function.
This broader assessment can be especially useful when poor movement mechanics or repetitive work and sports activities continue to overload the elbow.
Class IV Laser Therapy
Active Chiropractic & Laser Center offers Class IV K-Laser therapy as part of its conservative treatment services and lists elbow pain, tendonitis, repetitive strain injuries, and sports injuries among the conditions for which laser therapy may be used.
Laser therapy may be incorporated alongside exercise, chiropractic care, or soft tissue treatment with the goal of supporting pain management and recovery. It is a noninvasive treatment, although results vary and its suitability should be determined after an individual evaluation.
Rehabilitation Exercises
Exercise remains central to long-term recovery because the affected tendon gradually needs to tolerate normal gripping, lifting, work, and sports again.
A rehabilitation program may progress from mobility exercises to controlled strengthening and eventually activity-specific movements.
Manual and Soft Tissue Therapy
Manual techniques may be used to address tight or sensitive muscles around the forearm and improve comfortable movement.
These treatments generally work best as part of a broader plan rather than as a substitute for progressive strengthening.
Personalized Treatment Planning
Two people with golfer’s elbow may have very different causes. One may have developed symptoms after increasing golf practice, while another performs repetitive gripping throughout the workday.
Treatment should consider your symptoms, activity level, movement patterns, strength, work demands, and goals.
What Should You Avoid While Recovering?
Continuing to overload a painful tendon can delay progress. While recovering:
- Avoid repeatedly playing or working through significant pain.
- Reduce heavy gripping and lifting when they aggravate symptoms.
- Limit repetitive wrist-bending movements that reproduce pain.
- Do not immediately return to your previous sports intensity when symptoms begin improving.
- Pay attention to increasing weakness, numbness, tingling, or worsening pain.
A gradual return to activity gives the tendon time to adapt to increasing demands.
How Long Does Golfer’s Elbow Take to Heal?
Recovery time varies considerably.
Mild symptoms may improve relatively quickly when the aggravating activity is identified early. Long-standing or more significant tendinopathy can require several months of rehabilitation. AAOS notes that most cases can be treated without surgery, while surgical care is generally reserved for persistent symptoms that have not responded after several months of nonsurgical treatment.
Recovery can be influenced by how long symptoms have been present, the physical demands placed on the arm, associated injuries, and consistency with rehabilitation.
When Should You See a Chiropractor or Healthcare Professional?
Consider getting your elbow evaluated when:
- Pain continues despite activity modification and home care.
- Grip or forearm weakness persists.
- Elbow or wrist movement becomes limited.
- Symptoms interfere with your job, exercise, or sports.
- Pain keeps returning whenever you resume activity.
- You develop numbness or tingling into the forearm or hand.
How Can You Prevent Golfer’s Elbow From Returning?
Once your elbow feels better, prevention should remain part of your routine.
Warm up before demanding activity, maintain forearm flexibility, continue appropriate strengthening exercises, improve lifting or swing mechanics, and increase training volume gradually rather than making sudden jumps.
For repetitive jobs, adjusting tools, grip demands, and rest periods can also reduce repeated strain.
Get Back to Work, Exercise, and Sports With Less Elbow Pain
The best way to treat golfer’s elbow is usually a combination of appropriate activity modification, progressive rehabilitation, and correction of the movements contributing to tendon overload. Simply waiting for the pain to disappear without addressing these factors can leave the elbow vulnerable when normal activity resumes.
If golfer’s elbow is keeping you from working, exercising, playing golf, or completing everyday activities comfortably, Active Chiropractic & Laser Center in Tustin, CA offers chiropractic care, Class IV K-Laser therapy, and other conservative services based on individual evaluation.
