Golfer's elbow

Also called: Medial epicondylalgia; medial epicondylitis

Exercise is the main treatment Strength Stretch Massage

Pain on the inside of the elbow, worst gripping and lifting with the palm up. It is the mirror image of tennis elbow - a degenerative tendinopathy of the flexor tendons - and it responds to the same principle: progressive loading rather than rest.

How common: Around 1% of the general population; a third as common as tennis elbow

Open the Elbow Relief (Tennis & Golfer) routine All problems

What it is

Medial epicondylalgia is a degenerative tendinopathy of the common flexor origin, where the wrist flexor and forearm pronator tendons attach to the inside of the elbow. As with tennis elbow, biopsy shows disorganised collagen rather than inflammation despite the itis in the traditional name.

It is around five times less common than tennis elbow and is caused by the same class of overload in the opposite muscle group - gripping, pulling, wrist flexion and forearm rotation. Golf is one cause among many; weightlifting, throwing, manual work and racquet sports all produce it.

What it feels like

Pain on the bony point on the inside of the elbow
Worst gripping, lifting with the palm up, and twisting the forearm inward
Tender to press on one specific spot
Sometimes spreading down the inside of the forearm
Aching after use, and stiff first thing in the morning

What causes it

Most people have more than one of these at once, and they feed each other. Read the list looking for the two or three that sound like your week rather than for the one true answer — the ones that describe you are the ones worth acting on.

Overload of the wrist flexor and pronator tendons: These muscles grip and rotate the forearm inward. Their shared attachment at the inner elbow concentrates the load, and repeated demand beyond its capacity produces degeneration.
A failed healing response: As in other tendinopathies, the tissue responds with disorganised collagen and new nerve ingrowth rather than repair. That is the pain source and it is why loading rather than rest is the treatment.
Gripping and pulling activities: Weightlifting, particularly pulling movements and heavy carries, rock climbing, and manual work all load these tendons heavily.
Throwing: The inner elbow experiences very high valgus stress during throwing, which loads these tendons as dynamic stabilisers. It is a common problem in throwing athletes.
Golf swing mechanics: Hitting the ground before the ball, or a grip that is too tight, loads the trailing arm's inner elbow. Technique and grip size both matter.
Sudden increases in load: A new training programme, a weekend of manual work or a return to a sport after a break. The tendon's capacity has not moved with the demand.
Weak shoulder and scapular muscles: As with tennis elbow, poor proximal stability increases the demand on the forearm. It is a frequently missed contributor to a stubborn case.
Ulnar nerve involvement: The ulnar nerve runs immediately behind the inner elbow. Symptoms extending into the ring and little fingers suggest nerve involvement alongside or instead of tendinopathy.
Age and metabolic factors: Most common between forty and sixty, and associated with diabetes, obesity and smoking through effects on tendon quality.

Who tends to get it

Adults between forty and sixty
Weightlifters, climbers and throwing athletes
Golfers, particularly with a tight grip or ground-first contact
Anyone in manual work involving gripping and pulling
Smokers and people with diabetes, in whom recovery is slower

What makes it worse, and what settles it

Makes it worse

Complete rest, which reduces pain and reduces tendon capacity
Continuing the aggravating load unchanged
Gripping hard with the wrist flexed, which loads the tendon maximally
Repeated corticosteroid injections, which worsen long-term outcomes
Ignoring symptoms extending into the ring and little fingers, which suggests nerve involvement

Settles it

Progressive loading of the wrist flexors and pronators - isometrics first, then eccentric and heavy slow resistance
Reducing rather than eliminating the aggravating load while capacity is rebuilt
Shoulder and scapular strengthening to reduce the demand on the forearm
A counterforce brace for symptomatic relief during the programme
Massage and soft tissue work on the forearm flexors

What actually helps

The short version: Degenerative tendinopathy of the common flexor origin

Strength work: Arms: Forearms: Wrist Flexors - slow eccentric wrist flexion; Hands, Fingers, Forearms, Grip; Back: Lats for the kinetic chain

Stretching: Hands, Fingers, Wrists - wrist extension stretch with the elbow straight

Massage: Arms: Forearms

Also worth doing: Grip modification; counterforce brace

What the evidence says: Same principles as tennis elbow: progressive eccentric or heavy-slow loading of the wrist flexors.

The names above are the Targets qFIT tracks — the Muscle Guide explains what each one does, and Quick Add switches on the Exercises you already have.

The qFIT routine for this

Ready-made routineElbow Relief (Tennis & Golfer)

qFIT already has this one built. It runs massage first, then stretching, then strength — the order that works on a body that is already sore — and every activity in it carries the reason it is there.

The button below opens your Checklist with this routine already selected, so instead of your whole list you land on just its Categories, Targets and Exercises, each with its checkbox, ready to tick as you work through them.

Open this routine in my Checklist

Have more than one problem? Tick yours under My Problems on My Profile and your Checklist's Routine list gains Recommended for my problems — every routine for the problems you picked, merged into one. Your picks stay private; that filter is the only thing they feed.

Get it checked if…

Numbness in the ring and little finger means ulnar nerve involvement - different problem

And whatever the body part: chest pain or unusual breathlessness on exertion; a fever alongside the pain; unexplained weight loss; pain that is constant and unrelated to how you move; new numbness, weakness or loss of bladder or bowel control; or one calf that is swollen, warm and painful. Any of those, stop and get assessed.

How it usually goes

Like tennis elbow this is slow: most cases resolve over six to twelve months, and progressive loading speeds recovery and reduces recurrence compared with rest. Corticosteroid injection provides short-term relief at the cost of worse outcomes at a year, which is worth knowing before accepting one. Numbness or tingling in the ring and little fingers points at the ulnar nerve and needs a different assessment.

Prevalence basis: Elbow disorder epidemiology

Others the same routine covers

These share the Elbow Relief (Tennis & Golfer) routine, so the work is the same. If one of them also sounds like you, that is a reason to expect more from it, not less.

This is general information, not a diagnosis, and it cannot examine you. If it matches you, use it to ask better questions of a clinician rather than to replace one.

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