Inner (Golfer's) elbow pain

I am having my second or third episode of inner elbow pain after recently recovering from tendonitis on the inside part of my wrist. I'm wondering how many of you have had the inner elbow vs. outer elbow pain which I have never had. I have read that there has been an increase in recent years with inner elbow pain in tennis players due to the "windshield wiper" motion on the forehand which I definitley use.

Had not heard of the WW motion as a cause for GE but I suppose that there could be a connection. I have heard that GE in tennis could result from the service as well as the forehand. The most likely culprits in these strokes is probably gripping too tightly (and too often) and flexing the wrist too much. Not really sure if the pronation motion in the serve and the WW FH action is a major factor in causing GE (but perhaps it is a factor).

You should be gripping the racket very loosely most of the time. As you accelerate the racket head on the forward swing of your strokes, you should not squeeze too tightly -- do not apply any more than (about) half grip strength.

On both the serve and the WW FH, the wrist is extended (laid back). On the serve, the wrist is snapped forward to meet the ball. However, this flexion action should not take it much past the neutral position. It is probably not necessary for the wrist to assume a flexed position (bent forward). The same would be true of the WW FH. Are you flexing the wrist on your WW follow thru?

While my strokes might not be perfect (whose are), my much bigger problem is overplaying. I am on the court 7 days a week- practicing for an hour and usually teaching for 2 hours. I never take a day off. My body is rebelling with various problems from off and on wrist and elbow problems, very sore knees and probably most seriously a sports hernia (torn rectous abdominous muscle). I know I overdo it. With this thread I was just more curious as to who may have had the inner elbow pain vs. the more traditional outer elbow pain.

I've developed both tennis and golfer's elbow from playing tennis.

The GE tends to worsen when I hit a lot of serves...like when I get out the basket and hit a bunch several times in a week.

It was really bad for me on Monday. I had a hitting lesson with a pretty good player at Watercolor Resort where I am helping the tennis director when I can. I kept heat on it all morning and struggled through two sets. I had three hours today- only one of them tough (a hitting lesson with a junior) and it was better, but not great. I'm going to keep hitting the anti inflammatories and hope for the best.

I believe that you would be better of with ice (or an ice massage) rather than heat for the most part. Ice is probably the best anti-inflammatory. Switch over to heat only for the last 15-20 minutes before you head out to the courts. This should help to warm up the forearm muscles and tendons prior to play. Go back to the ice after your hitting sessions.

Yes, exactly. I do ice at night when I remember to do so. I was applying heat to try and loosen it up and dull the pain to get through the match- thanks for the tip.

I think I have something similar to what you're experiencing, topsl, from overcompensating on my strokes due to my shoulder impingement issues. Heat beforehand seemed to relax it a bit, NSAIDs had 'some' improvement.

The biggest pain reliever I encountered was actually wearing a tennis elbow strap across the forearm muscle of my right arm. I wore it a few inches further down the arm towards my wrist - oriented so the little gel pad (of the strap) was snug against my inner forearm muscle.

I'm not positive my problem is exactly the same as yours. But, it sounds somewhat similar. I experience a good bit of pain in the elbow/forearm area from squeezing or twisting. I've been off of tennis for a couple months now and it has improved but will flare up a bit while doing my shoulder exercises. I'm guessing it takes time to completely disappear...

Off subject, I grew up in Fort Walton Beach and actually played a few tournaments at Topsl. Good luck!

Spittle said:

I think I have something similar to what you're experiencing, topsl, from overcompensating on my strokes due to my shoulder impingement issues. Heat beforehand seemed to relax it a bit, NSAIDs had 'some' improvement.

The biggest pain reliever I encountered was actually wearing a tennis elbow strap across the forearm muscle of my right arm. I wore it a few inches further down the arm towards my wrist - oriented so the little gel pad (of the strap) was snug against my inner forearm muscle.

I'm not positive my problem is exactly the same as yours. But, it sounds somewhat similar. I experience a good bit of pain in the elbow/forearm area from squeezing or twisting. I've been off of tennis for a couple months now and it has improved but will flare up a bit while doing my shoulder exercises. I'm guessing it takes time to completely disappear...




Off subject, I grew up in Fort Walton Beach and actually played a few tournaments at Topsl. Good luck!

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Cool. I grew up down here as well- in Niceville. I live in Santa Rosa Beach now. I'm no longer affiliated with TOPS'L though. I spent 2.5 years as their Club Manager between 2005-2007. I was also briefly on the teaching staff back in the early 90's. Now I split my time between a small neighborhood club and Watercolor Resort.

Interesting that you put the strap on the forearm. I need to try that. I had tried to put it over the elbow and it was too constricting and seemed to make the pain worse.

topsltennis said:

Yes, exactly. I do ice at night when I remember to do so. I was applying heat to try and loosen it up and dull the pain to get through the match- thanks for the tip.

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I may have misinterpreted what you had said previously. It sounded like you had been applying heat for most of the morning before heading out to the courts (later in the day). If so, it might have been better to ice in the morning and then switch to heat before heading out to the courts. On the other hand, if you were applying heat on-&-off while hitting in the morning, this would make more sense.

topsltennis said:

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Interesting that you put the strap on the forearm. I need to try that. I had tried to put it over the elbow and it was too constricting and seemed to make the pain worse.

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Typically, most forearm straps intended for TE & GE are meant to be worn just below the tender (tendon) area. The idea is to provide compression for the forearm muscles so that less stress is applied to the inflamed tendons.

Such a strap can also be used as feedback device to make you aware if your grip on the racket handle is too tight. The strap should be snug enough to provide compression to the muscle (not the tendon), but not so tight as to cut off circulation. With a snug strap, you should easily be able to feel if you are gripping too tightly. Between strokes, when you are not swinging the racket forward (to meet the ball), you should grip very loosely -- you should be able to feel tension in the forearm muscle (against the strap) if your grip is not relaxed (during the non-swing time).

i was using a pro kennex core 1 number 6 for a few months before developing golfer's elbow. tried stopping for three weeks and two week intervals but pain kept coming back if i played two days out of three. Am taking 6 weeks off, and am gonna try softer racquets. probably will try the redondo and volkl C1. by the way i also wore a compression strap just below the elbow (think of a a guitar string and how when you apply your finger, then the pressure at the top of the neck is reduced). I found it helped but is not a long term solution.