It often is mistaken that ‘tennis elbow’ only happens in tennis players and ‘golfer’s elbow’ only happens in golfers. This is NOT true. Both can happen in both sports, so is not a very useful name for them.
‘Tennis elbow’ is pain on the outside bony point of the elbow effecting the tendons that help to hinge the wrist upwards to the sky.
‘Golfer’s elbow’ is the opposite – pain occurs on the inside bony point of the elbow and effects the tendons that grip and hinge the wrist downwards to the floor.
Both can be very common in golf in particular. This is because the forearm muscles that help grip and move the club through the swing work very hard and can be injured when the demand increases.
These can be the biggest causes of ‘tennis’ and ‘golfer’s elbow’:
- A change in equipment to heavier or lighter clubs
- A change to thicker grips
- A swing that flips the club too much
- A swing that ‘chicken wings’ the elbow on follow through
- An increase volume hitting off matts in the winter
- A steeper attack angle causing more compression on the ball
- An increase in number of balls hit
These are all areas we can alter to give resolve your elbow pain, but will need collaboration between the golf physio and teaching professional.
