Golfer Elbow Swing Advice

[treeleaf20]

All,

I’m a right handed golfer and have really been suffering from golfers elbow. The inside of my right elbow is killing me after a round. 

Does anyone have any advice on what is causing this and any swing advice to help put less stress on my right elbow?

I appreciate any advice! Thank you in advance. 

[Headhammer]

Most likely it's just a repetitive stress injury, i.e., hitting the ball over & over again and it's very common among 40+ year old golfers. Try doing these stretching exercises below before your round. 

 

[russtopherb]

I moved back to graphite shafts after elbow pain a few summers ago and I'll never go back to steel. An arm band may work as well in the interim. 

[GolfSpy AFG]

14 hours ago, treeleaf20 said:

All,

I’m a right handed golfer and have really been suffering from golfers elbow. The inside of my right elbow is killing me after a round. 

Does anyone have any advice on what is causing this and any swing advice to help put less stress on my right elbow?

I appreciate any advice! Thank you in advance. 

I've been fighting golfer's elbow for nearly the entire season.  I did at one point rest it for 2 weeks, but that wasn't long enough of course and it's been lingering ever since. I'll give you my thoughts on playing with it and managing it.

1)  Only ice if you absolutely need to for pain management or to reduce inflammation.  That inflammation is the body pushing blood to the injured tendon, and that's basically step one in the healing process.  The more you ice the more you inhibit healing.  Check out the link below:

Time to Rethink Recovery: Hot & Cold Exposure - SimpliFaster

2)  To help aid recovery, consider a massage gun.  Plenty of YouTube videos on how to use it effectively for tendinitis.

3)  As has already been said, a shaft change can help.  I recently switched to a composite shaft (Aerotech Steelfiber's) and while I wouldn't have done it if not for the performance benefit, there is definitely less impact on my arm.

4)  Wear a compression sleeve while playing...this has significantly helped me keep playing even while still injured.

[alfriday101]

Try varying your right hand grip to take pressure off your elbow.  It's worth a try on the range to see if your present grip contributes to the problem.  I had to move my right hand grip farther into my fingers to take pressure off the elbow.  (I also picked up some yardage with the change.)

 

Compression sleves, elbow braces etc. can help, but they don't fix the underlying problem.  Strengthen and stretch your muscles.  Google "Thera-Band".  They are exercise bars that you twist--they are especially designed to help with golf/tennis elbow.  

[Alf. S]

I suffer from it off and on, the worse was when  I was using extra stiff shafts, with a steep swing and divot.

Over the last few years my swing has moved to be more shallow taking very small divots has helped. I also moved away from a neutral swing and tend to generate most of the power through the left shoulder and arm. Another tip is to  use a sweat wrist band all the way up my arm to just below the elbow to relive some of the tension on the tendon (Nike is best). This season I bought a massage gun and I've been using this lately which seems to have helped.

[treeleaf20]

Thanks everyone. So far, I'm going to switch to the Golf Pride CP2 grips to hopefully help out some. It's weird, I just recently switched to the Nippon Modus Tour 105 Stiff shafts over the past year or so. I never got this elbow issue playing with the stock shafts on my other other irons.

I'm also starring at a Theraband sitting next to me as I type those so I appreciate that suggestion and hopefully that helps. Thanks for all the adivce.

[pauls]

3 hours ago, alfriday101 said:

Try varying your right hand grip to take pressure off your elbow.  It's worth a try on the range to see if your present grip contributes to the problem.  I had to move my right hand grip farther into my fingers to take pressure off the elbow.  (I also picked up some yardage with the change.)

 

Compression sleves, elbow braces etc. can help, but they don't fix the underlying problem.  Strengthen and stretch your muscles.  Google "Thera-Band".  They are exercise bars that you twist--they are especially designed to help with golf/tennis elbow.  

Along those lines, try anything to decrease your grip pressure at impact. Wear a glove on the right hand, grip that is thicker lower down or just being conscious of how hard you are holding the club with the right hand.

[Albatrossx3]

The temporary solutions mentioned are fine, but seek help with your technique,  I have had tennis elbow at times but because my technique is 

usually sound it does not last.  If you hit down too steeply you are digging into the turf and creating shock, which will wear on your ligaments and joints, or if you 

thin the ball too often you will also cause a shock to the joints.  

 

[HDTVMAN]

1. Graphite Shafts 2. Winn or soft grips 3.Hempvana Cream is amazing.

I had the same issue many years ago and switched to graphite shafts and Winn grips. I could only play 9 holes until I made the change and then I could play 18. I use the Hempvana these days for elbow pains (from age).

[ChuckZ]

Had that problem a number of years ago.  Made a few changes.  Started wearing Sabona magnetic bracelets, went to GolfPride midsize grips and adjusted my grip on the clubs.   The grip adjustment most likely helped the most, but a still wearing the bracelets.  Have not had any issues since I did this.  I was griping the clubs improperly causing the index finger to over grip the club thereby putting stress on the nerve that runs to the elbow.   Was griping the club in the palm of my hand rather than my fingers.  Might check with a pro and see if your grip is the issue.   I tried a number of gimmicks that you wear on the forearm and they DID NOT HELP.   

[MisterT]

In addition to all the good advice above, hitting lots of balls off range mats can contribute to this. Additionally, you want pressure on the injured area all the time - not just when playing golf. I purchased an AirCast Pneumatic Armband and used it 24x7 with great success. Good luck.

Edited August 9, 2021 by MisterT

[ChuckZ]

1 minute ago, ChuckZ said:

Had that problem a number of years ago.  Made a few changes.  Started wearing Sabona magnetic bracelets, went to GolfPride midsize grips and adjusted my grip on the clubs.   The grip adjustment most likely helped the most, but a still wearing the bracelets.  Have not had any issues since I did this.  I was griping the clubs improperly causing the index finger to over grip the club thereby putting stress on the nerve that runs to the elbow.   Was griping the club in the palm of my hand rather than my fingers.  Might check with a pro and see if your grip is the issue.   I tried a number of gimmicks that you wear on the forearm and they DID NOT HELP.   

Might add, I will be 75 in a few weeks, play three days a week, play steels shafts with my irons and have no issues with golf/tennis elbow anymore.  We hit off matts on our driving range Monday - Thursday due to the number of people using the range, which can have an impact on your elbows at times if you are pounding balls. 

   

[6 Aces]

I had golfer's elbow a couple of times.  An arm band with a small pad in it that is placed directly on the sore spot will help.  Icing it will also help.  Or, my final solution:  cortisone shots.  Went away quickly.

[Jim G.]

21 hours ago, treeleaf20 said:

All,

I’m a right handed golfer and have really been suffering from golfers elbow. The inside of my right elbow is killing me after a round. 

Does anyone have any advice on what is causing this and any swing advice to help put less stress on my right elbow?

I appreciate any advice! Thank you in advance. 

I have the exact same issue.  1) I use and elbow brace when I play.  2) I use an electronic massager know as "Doctor Ho" it works really well.  It is a 20 Minute cycle.  3) Work on Strengthening your right elbow.  There are plenty of exercises for it.  The Stretching exercise do work.  4) Finally make sure to keep your right elbow closer to your body on the downswing.  This has helped me a lot.  It is a process and It will take some time to heal but, it will heal.  

[Paul Kopp]

I had the same issue and someone suggested using the Jumbomax grips.  Problem is gone.

Good luck.

[Jim N]

I got this injury a number of years ago doing something completely unrelated to golf. I suggest you try doing physical therapy, as it is usually a repetitive stress injury, and can get much worse over time, resulting in reduced range of motion in your elbow. There were a couple of exercises I had to do a few times a day using a light barbell, and I think something with pressing your hand and arm into a wall, but really can't remember the specifics.

The bands help some with immediate pain, but don't address the underlying injury, and don't provide enough support to really keep it from getting worse.

I'm by no means a good golfer, but if I was to guess I'd think you are straightening your right elbow too soon in your downswing and/or flipping too much at impact, as both those things put additional stress on the inside of your right elbow. Jim G's suggestions above regarding exercising and the downswing make sense to me.

[Rodzilla]

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Edited August 9, 2021 by Rodzilla
added content

[Powder skier]

I had this at the end of last season and ultimately purchased a theraband flexbar and performed eccentric strengthening exercises and it only gets sore with bicep and tricep strengthening.  Less than 20 bucks and helped me within a few weeks.  No pain with the golf swing

[Antonio Gantavre]

Yes, this is a familiar situation. But the first thing I do is to use an elbow brace. Then after playing I use an electronic massage. And at the end I apply a good cream to the problem area. It is also called topical relief cream https://therapistpreferred.com/running/ . And most importantly you do stretching exercises on the joint, that will help you a lot. And you have to remember this kind of thing. Pain is the body's way of letting you know it's running out. If there is a sign from the body. You should go to the doctor. And quit golfing for a while. So you can recover. I hope some of this helps you.

Edited August 27, 2021 by Antonio Gantavre

[bluesmandan76]

Rest and ibuprofen and heat to get rid of the inflammation and promote healing. Physical therapy to strengthen and heal. Lessons from a pro to fix the improper technique so you don't injure it again.

Regarding the last one: a lot of guys struggle with this because they are hitting with their arms and hands, upper body strength being used in the wrong way, and the transition is sometimes too abrupt. All that puts tension in the right arm and elbow. You need to feel the club more in your fingers, and "swing" the club smoothly towards the target and just let the path of the clubhead pass through where the ball is, instead of "hitting" the ball.

I like to think of the shaft/grip as being the handle of a heavy bucket, and I'm swinging and throwing the heavy bucket at the target. Just think if you had a 5 gallon bucket, half filled with water or sand... hold the handle like it's a golf grip, and then swing back and forth a few times about waist high, and then you need to toss the bucket towards the target to your left. The pressure on the right elbow changes... instead of twisting from the shoulder and elbow like an arm-wrestling contest and then pushing with your tricep (that's the motion that is hurting you), the motion should be more of resisting the centrifugal forces of the club pulling away from you, which you should feel in the fingers, and it should passively lengthen the arms, and you should feel your right bicep and right index finger controlling how much the clubhead dips out as you swing the club, instead of "hitting" at the ball with your right tricep and forearm. You could also imagine holding a heavy dumbbell and swinging and tossing it towards the target. You wouldn't push it with your right arm and forearm, but use your largest muscles (thighs, back, torso) and feel it pulling away from you rather than you pushing it away from you.

A lesson or three from a good teacher should help you move in that direction.

[ChuckZ]

Me personally, I believe in researching as much as possible to support any theories regarding cause and effect.  Here is an interesting article from the Mayo Clinic regarding this subject.  Answers all the who, what, where and why.  I think you will find it a very interesting read.  

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/golfers-elbow/symptoms-causes/syc-20372868