Golfer's Elbow (Medial Epicondylitis): Inner-Elbow Pain, Explained

Golfer's elbow is the inner-elbow mirror image of tennis elbow: same kind of overuse tendon problem, opposite side of the joint. If gripping, lifting, or flexing your wrist sends pain into the inner side of your elbow, this is the likely cause. It is less common than tennis elbow, and despite the name it has little to do with golf for most people — but the good news is the same: the great majority recover with patient, sensible care. Here is what it is and what helps.

What is golfer's elbow?

Golfer's elbow, known medically as medial epicondylitis, is an overuse injury of the tendons that attach the forearm's flexor and pronator muscles to the bony bump on the inner side of the elbow (the medial epicondyle). These are the muscles that bend the wrist and turn the palm downward, so repeated gripping, wrist flexion, and twisting load them. As with tennis elbow, the problem is better understood as a tendinosis — a wear-and-failed-healing change in the tendon — rather than simple inflammation, which shapes how it is best treated.

What causes it?

It is an overload problem at heart, and the usual drivers are activities that repeatedly grip and flex the wrist:

• Throwing and racquet sports, golf, and similar repetitive arm actions.
• Manual work and tool use — anything with sustained gripping or twisting.
• Weight training with heavy gripping or wrist work.
• A sudden increase in any of the above.

It is worth knowing up front that medial epicondylitis is significantly less common than its lateral (tennis elbow) counterpart ¹ — so inner-elbow pain is real, just rarer than the outer-elbow version.

What it feels like

• Pain and tenderness on the inner side of the elbow, sometimes spreading down the inner forearm.
• Worse with gripping, flexing the wrist, or turning the palm down — opening a jar, swinging a club or racquet, lifting.
• A sense of grip weakness.
• Occasionally, tingling or numbness into the ring and little fingers, if the nearby ulnar nerve is irritated — worth mentioning to your clinician, as it can change the plan.

How is it diagnosed?

Like tennis elbow, golfer's elbow is usually diagnosed clinically: tenderness right over the inner bony point and pain when you flex the wrist against resistance are typically enough. Imaging is reserved for unclear cases, or if a nerve problem or another diagnosis is suspected.

Golfer's elbow, or a trapped nerve?

Because the ulnar nerve passes right behind the inner elbow — in the groove that gives you a "funny bone" jolt when knocked — its problems can sit close to, or alongside, golfer's elbow. The distinction matters for treatment:

• Golfer's elbow is mainly pain and tenderness over the inner bony point, worse with gripping and wrist flexion.
• Cubital tunnel syndrome (ulnar nerve irritation) leans more toward tingling, numbness, or weakness in the ring and little fingers, sometimes worse with the elbow bent for long periods.

The two can overlap, so persistent finger tingling alongside inner-elbow pain is worth flagging — it can change the assessment and the plan.

How is golfer's elbow treated?

The playbook closely mirrors tennis elbow, and most cases settle with conservative care:

• Activity modification — easing the aggravating gripping and wrist-flexing loads while staying generally active.
• Strengthening exercises for the forearm flexors, built up progressively — the backbone of recovery.
• A counterforce brace on the forearm to offload the tendon during activity.
• Pain relief for flares, plus attention to technique and equipment.
• Corticosteroid injections may be considered when first-line measures have failed, but they mainly help short-term and are not advantageous for chronic golfer's elbow ¹, so they are used selectively.
• Surgery is rarely needed, reserved for stubborn cases that do not respond to a genuine course of rehabilitation.

As with all tendon problems, the catch is time — improvement comes over months, not days, and consistency with the exercises is what makes the difference.

Preventing a recurrence

• Build gripping and throwing activities up gradually rather than in sudden spikes.
• Keep the forearm muscles strong with maintenance exercises.
• Refine technique and equipment for your sport or work.
• Act on early twinges instead of pushing through them.

Where do regenerative approaches fit?

The honest position matches the other tendon problems. A 2021 systematic review and meta-analysis found mesenchymal stem cell therapy may improve pain and function in tendon disorders but stressed that large randomised trials are still needed to confirm it ². Because most golfer's elbow responds to a proper loading programme, a regenerative injection is at most an unproven option for stubborn cases — never a first move. At Cureon it is physician-led and offered only after assessment, with the field's limits set out in our overview of regenerative medicine.

What we see at the clinic

The story we hear most is inner-elbow pain that comes and goes with activity and never quite resolves, usually because the forearm tendons were never properly rehabilitated. A structured strengthening programme, a brace during loading, and a little patience turn most of these around. We also check for any tingling into the fingers, since ulnar nerve involvement is worth identifying early.

Common questions

Is golfer's elbow the same as tennis elbow? They are mirror images — golfer's elbow on the inner elbow, tennis elbow on the outer — and they are managed along very similar lines.

Why are my ring and little fingers tingling? The ulnar nerve runs close to the inner elbow and can be irritated alongside golfer's elbow. Mention it to your clinician, as it can change the assessment and treatment.

Do I have to play golf to get it? No — most cases come from everyday gripping, lifting, throwing, or manual work rather than golf.

How long until it settles? Usually months with consistent strengthening. The majority recover without surgery, but it rewards patience.

Should I get a steroid injection? It may help short-term, but it is not advantageous for chronic golfer's elbow, so it is used selectively rather than as a default.

Key takeaway

Golfer's elbow is the less-common, inner-elbow counterpart of tennis elbow — an overuse tendon problem that usually settles over a few months with progressive forearm strengthening, activity changes, and patience rather than rest or repeated injections. Treat surgery and unproven regenerative options as last resorts, and flag any finger tingling so a nerve cause is not missed.