Golfer's Elbow - desperate for some good advice!

Hi all,

So i've had golfer's elbow for about 3 years and it has got progressively worse over the last 3 years. Nothing seems to help and I would love to be able to play as much as i want without pain. I probably hit 100 balls every other day and play twice on the weekends. I am 32 years old and swing it around 118 with a driver. Here is what I have tried based on other threads I have searched over the years

1) RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) with Intense Stretching and massage ball- seems to help a little bit but the pain comes back quickly. I have tried about a month of rest here and there and the pain gets better and then i start swinging again and it is back to square one

2) Theraband bar - this thing actually helped me a year ago, i might need to go back to using it regularly if i can find it

3) Cortisone shot - did absolutely nothing. The orthopedist did x rays and MRIs and noticed things look generally OK

4) strengthening exercises for my flexors at the gym

I'm getting really frustrated by how annoying this pain is and how little range of motion i have (when it is bad i cant straighten my arm passed 120 degrees and the doc said he doesnt see that often). I am going to do all of the above with 2 months of solid rest and no swinging to see if it goes away and stays away but i would be really appreciative if anyone has something new to try that gave them success.... thanks so much!

Have you considered getting different shafts for your irons or the Prosoft inserts?

I had some golfer's elbow issues over the last few years and eventually had to drop my Project X 6.0 iron shafts and cut back on the range time. The Theraband reverse Tyler twist exercise helped, but what really made the difference was going with the Dynamic Gold X100s.

I think the Theraband and rest should be your first order of business, followed by changing your shafts in your irons. I had tennis elbow in successive years 6 and 7 years ago (the right arm first, then the left arm the next year), and the only things that helped were the Theraband (the green one) and switching out my DG S400's for Recoil Protos. I was always a fan of heavy shafts and loved the S400's, but they wreaked havoc on my elbows eventually.

I switched to graphite and I haven't had an elbow problem since. I've since switched to the Recoil 110 shafts and have picked up about 5-8 yards per iron. If you can't find graphite shafts that you like, at least get some dampening inserts for your X100's (which are great shafts, but let's face it, they are heavy and pretty stiff). I thought I saw recently that TT was coming out with newer vibration dampening shafts - maybe give those a shot?

I had micro tears in my right elbow ligament, via ct scan. I had glucose injections 3 times over 3 months. Didn't immediately alleviate it but it was very good by month 6.

OP, you know the answer . . . Theraband bar and the Tyler Twist or Reverse Tyler Twist depending on whether your injury is lateral or medial.

Do this, buy a second Theraband bar and use it in the car.

Healthy diet, Drink plenty of water, take a Glucosamine supplement. and exercise with that theraband thing.

I had a horrible case of tendonitis that started as tennis elbow, switched to golfers elbow, and eventually moved into my forearm. Not sure how it was related, but it was within a few months of new irons with a different shaft. Tendonitis went away after about a month of ice, rest, ibuprofen, and Jim Beam. Changed back to my old iron shafts and have not had the problem since.

Former competitive bodybuilder and trainer here.The Zottsman curl with light dumbells. This is an old fashioned boxers exercise. You can find instructional videos on YouTube. Vince Giranda has a good one.

This exercise doesn't work with everybody, but if it works for you, you may have some pretty miraculous results.

Good luck.

I'll just do 6 to 10 sets per week. 10 to 15 reps per arm. It keeps the tendonitis at bay.

If you ever hit off of mats, stop immediately!

if you take a decent divot make sure to try not hitting from sandy driving ranges either.

i have a pretty fast swing speed and went from x100’s to the aerotech steelfiber x110’s in all irons and wedges.

distances seemed similar but the elbow pain has been gone for about a year now.

only time my elbow hurts anymore is when I swing the driver poorly(off tempo and past parallel)

Be wary of the Aleve addiction. Learned that the hard way.

Good luck my fellow physically deteriorating golfer!

I use x100s... do you use the pro soft inserts on them too?

Dealt with this o in 2018 through early 2019. As @Paintman said the zottesman curl is a great exercise it's makes it a concentric stretch on the downward motion to help with the tendons. Another thing that I had to do and I know many of us don't want to do was physical therapy, yes I was given a bunch of bands and movement to do both there and at home. (do them everyday it really helps). But the more important part of PT was this small 5'2 PT working and massaging my arm and 'ripping' the scar tissue away. Getting rid of the built of scar tissue allows you to do the Theraband items and build range of motion back up.
But for real see a doctor or PT, my stubborn butt waited and my tendinitis became tendonosis and required more work

It sounds like it's time for graphite.

Also, it sounds like your rest likely wasn't long enough, and that you were probably doing other activities (lifting?) in the meantime.

Not yet. I went from the PX 6.0s to the x100s in a new set of irons, which isn't quite as extreme as going to graphite (although I was considering it). The Prosofts will go in when I regrip my clubs in a year or so.

As I mentioned, I cut back on the range time and don't hit nearly as many balls as I used to. For now my elbow has been better and I suspect it's the rest that fixed it.

My chiropractor fixed mine in about 4 visits.

what did he/she do

Yanked on my arm,wrist,hand and fingers plus muscle work

Stop swinging immediately! Stop all the exercises! Stop, stop stop, STOP!!!!

Get yourself a wrist brace that prevents your wrist from bending the palm towards your elbow. Wear it for 30 days, ONLY take it off to shower. After 30 days, start moderate movement of the wrist, light stretching. Maybe some half swings with the clubs. Go back into golf like you are on a pitch count, increase your movement and function VERY slowly.

What has happened I'd your muscle and ligament on the inside of your arm is inflamed. Until this settles down, anything that allows the muscle to fire, is detrimental.

I did the above, plus stretching before golf and I have NO ISSUES. I probably hit a couple thousand balls off green mats every year at (shameless plug) Golf-TEC.

Search for my post about 10 years ago on the same subject.

I had golfers elbow on both elbows. Cause it’s winter and no golf. Don’t even go to the range. I would concentrate on healing up the elbow by what you already listed. But minus any physical activity. Also consider switching to graphite shafts. I made the switch to recoils and it’s made a huge difference. My 2 cents.

I had tennis elbow. Mine required surgery. I can say if you have tried long term rest without change then see a Dr. Long term rest is months and months. Not a week or two. Those nerves in the elbow receive lower blood flow, I was told, and take longer to heal. When you have no pain do as others said. Therapy and exercise.

Just a stupid question. Do you have any neck pain or issues? The elbow can sometimes be a victim of neck issues.

Good luck. It's a bit*"* having elbow issues.

no neck pain ever. good point about blood flow... im gonna give it an honest chance to heal for 2 months. see what happens. this sucks

Good luck. I was out of the game for over a year.

Im still managing my golfers elbow but so far:

Theraband Twist Bar, ( blue one )

Graphite shafts

Lots of forearm stretches

I have increased my range of motion to where I can rest a barbell on my shoulders after a power clean. Its a normal range of motion for most people but it took me several weeks to be able to manage a empty bar,

Graphite shafts make that much of a difference huh? Might need to try

if u practice a fair amount, it definitely helps but I'm also a bit of a sweeper, picker, if u smash the range mat, it probably will still get inflamed. I believe the constant stitching of the forearm helps, i thought i was the only one who could not straighten their right arm to 180* but im much closer now, i would say im at 160-165* now.....before my stretching routine, i was at about 130*

ya man my arm almost looks deformed when i try to straighten it ... it creeps my wife out hahaha which is a very small silver lining i guess. When i rest and stretch it gets better but never fully straight

Try another doctor, specifically a sports medicine specialist. You're injured and need to heal before trying all manner of internet advice.

Steve

I had this really bad for 2 years but no pain over the last 2 seasons. I don't know which helped the most but this is what I did: switched to graphite shafts through the bag, deep tissue massage, blue theraband bar exercises, dumbbell wrist extensions and stretches.

I had golfers elbows and bad wrists and was told I needed surgeries.

.....20 years ago

So I have painful and bruising deep tissue work done regularly on my forearms, pecs and shoulders and have been virtually pain free.

That sounds like Rolfing ???

I basically did the same thing and it helped me as well, however it is not a cure all, if I get lazy on stretching or doing my exercises, the pain in the elbow does come back ! I believe diet helps as well, it sounds a bit out there but there are some foods that promote inflammation while others help alleviate inflammation.