Why Do I get Elbow Pain When I Golf? 

As someone who works with golfers for a living this is a question I get very frequently.

• Why does my elbow hurt?

• Why is it not getting better?

• Is there something I am doing in my swing that is causing this?

• Is there something I am doing at home that is causing this?

The easy answer is that there are often a number of things that we are doing in our lives and especially on the golf course that can contribute to elbow and forearm pain. The difficult answer is that there could be many things you are doing on the course, off the course and in general that may all add up to your elbow tissue not recovering from the demands you are placing on it. Below I will discuss typical day to day problems, typical swing mechanical problems, as well as frequency problems. Remember they are all interconnected and related!

A list of Mechanical and Practice Related Reasons Why you have Elbow Pain:

1) Cupping at impact- Cupping at impact is the position of your lead wrist in a position of extension ( knuckles and back of your hand closer to the back of your forearm. This puts your wrist in a poor position to absorb forces and at impact usually results in more force up to the elbow.

2) To Steep an angle of attack- Taking too much turf/ hitting down on your irons too much creates a significantly higher impact force that has to get absorbed through: the hands, forearm and elbow. Doing this repetitively can lead to increased break down at the forearm muscle at the elbow and can create pain.

3) Inconsistent Impact- For the same reasons as above- however this is more of a culprit as someone who consistently hits down on the ball has likely developed some strength and resilience in the arm and elbow, however if you hit a few unexpected fat shots especially on firm turf it can create more stress.

4) Over-gripping- If you have an overly tight grip on the club ( typically done to control the face) you create a significant amount of extra tension on the forearms and elbow, if you do this over hundreds and thousands of swings you can begin to get breakdown and subsequent irritation and pain.

5) Recently made a grip or swing change- If you have recently made any swing change it is not uncommon for you to feel soreness in other areas, whether it be your back, hips, forearm, shoulder or other. This happens because those areas are not use to being used/ moved in that way. Our body’s tissue is remarkable in that we can adapt to such demands. However, if we swing at the same repetition or frequency after making a big change it may be too much too quickly and result in pain.

6) Over-training- I love golf, LOVE it. That means playing a lot, practicing a lot and being an overall nut job daily. However, if we get too carried away and over extend ourselves and our “pitch count” we can run into soreness. If we ignore that soreness we can create pain. We can also create pain if we are used to swing 100x in a session, and one day decide that swinging 300x in a session is a good idea. Our muscle and joint tissue may not respond well to that.

7) Switching from grass practice to practice on firm mats- This again simply applies to our body’s tissue to readily create and absorb force, switching to a firm mat = more force which means that if you take the same amount of swings it will create more stress at the forearm and elbow.

8) Early Release, chicken winging and other mechanical problems with the swing- By manipulating the club on the down swing or follow through we are typically getting overactive with our wrist and arms. This can be for MANY MANY reasons ranging from needing to improve your hip mobility, your back mobility, needing to improve your coordination and timing, and or changing variables such as your set up and general technique. We could get into a rabit hole of technical issues. Most important take away- If you have a body part that is not moving well it can change your entire swing and place stress on body parts that you DO NOT want to stress. Such as low back, knee, wrist, forearm, and ankle to name a few!

A List of day to day things that could be influencing your elbow’s inability to recover:

If you are tired of living with your elbow pain and want to take care of it TODAY, book an appointment with us!