Left elbow is in hell…

[T Creer]

Will graphite iron shafts help my elbow pain? It hurts on both top and bottom of elbow. 

[rgk5]

Yes, to avoid this. 

[Wardman]

I just switched, and a bonus has been not feeling the reverb through my hands. Really weird and getting used to what feel is, but I’d say yes. 

[T Creer]

Holy hell rgk5, I think I’d start bowling if my arm looked that bad. Hope you get better soon. 

[SEP1006]

Graphite will most definitely help your elbows, wrists and shoulders !!!!!!!

[bekgolf]

2 hours ago, T Creer said:

Will graphite iron shafts help my elbow pain? It hurts on both top and bottom of elbow. 

 

They helped me.  So did elbow specific exercises.

 

It took awhile but now I'm all graphite except for the putter.  Good luck!

[jobin]

Yeah, graphite may help the elbow but might not help producing better golf shots. IMO, keep away from the driving range mats, esp when hitting irons.

 

And, again IMO, not steel, not graphite, not fiberglass, not hickory, not bamboo nor any combination of rigid materials will really help to make more putts.  But when putting there is 'hardly' any stress on the elbow joint so that's the thing to practice while elbow heals.

[hunterdog]

Years ago, I developed terrible pain from left elbow into wrist. I switched to graphite shafts and, over time, the pain subsided. Last year I thought I would try steel shafts. A month later I was again dealing with left elbow pain. Put away the steel and, again, pain subsided. I can’t say that the switch will help you but it helped me.

[CDLgolf]

I had to switch to graphite 4 or 5 years ago. I used to have terrible wrist and elbow pain at the end of the season. It was so bad it would take several months to go away. After switching to graphite the beginning of next season my pain never came back and now I play 2 to 3 times a week with no problems.  

[Double Mocha Man]

28 minutes ago, jobin said:

Yeah, graphite may help the elbow but might not help producing better golf shots. IMO, keep away from the driving range mats, esp when hitting irons.

 

And, again IMO, not steel, not graphite, not fiberglass, not hickory, not bamboo nor any combination of rigid materials will really help to make more putts.  But when putting there is 'hardly' any stress on the elbow joint so that's the thing to practice while elbow heals.

 

A few years ago I was out for 18 months with torn tendons in my right elbow.  All I did was putting and short chips.  I thought I'd become the best putter in Western Washington state.  But nope.

[mizuno player]

Yes. 

 

However, you will need to recover from current issue to get full benefits. Imo.. 

[T Creer]

You guys have been a wealth of knowledge. No more hitting off mats and I’m going going to graphite. 
I’ll report back on the results. 
Thanks guys!,,,

[phizzy30]

5 hours ago, rgk5 said:

Yes, to avoid this. 

Holy s***, did you tear the bicep tendon???!

[SteelieD]

Going to graphite was an absolute game changer for me. More distance, more accuracy and most importantly, severely reduced left elbow pain. It’s only been a couple months, I expect the pain to be completely gone soon.  

[rgk5]

7 hours ago, phizzy30 said:

Holy s***, did you tear the bicep tendon???!

No and actually there was no pain from the injury. Amazing.

[NRJyzr]

I started with graphite, largely as an experiment, almost six years ago.  Was curious more than anything, but found some interesting performance gains in wind performance.  Decided to keep playing them.

 

After a couple months, I discovered something interesting:  I noticed the absence of an ache in my wrists and hands, that I hadn't realized was there. 

 

Not unlike an old joke from a comedian who didn't realize how bad a cook his mother was until he joined the Army; that night he ran into the infirmary yelling, "Help, the fire went out!"  🙂

 

I didn't switch full time until a couple seasons ago, largely due to being a club ho that wanted to dabble with multiple sets.  Finally switched away from steel, and I've played graphite exclusively since then.  It definitely keeps the irritation down.

 

[ARL67]

For OP, Yes go to graphite and maybe a softer grip.

I like the CP2 Wrap series for good comfort and control.

I'm a Steelfiber guy, but also would readily game Recoils too.

 

RGK5:  Wow that looks nasty !  Hard to believe you don't have any pain / discomfort.  Curious what your doc might say is going on.  Nice gun show BTW, you lift bro ?! 🤣

 

Edited November 27, 2022 by ARL67

[rodge]

I had pain on both sides of my elbow and finally had surgery 3 weeks ago.  Hate to say it but nothing else was going to help me.  I tried everything, trust me in 11 years of almost constant pain I left no stone unturned. 
 

Mine never got better because my forearm muscle tissue had basically overwhelmed a tendon, so they just cut it out, guess it’s a spare part!  The tendon on the other side was nearly completely torn, so they cut off the damaged part and reattached it.  
 

The point here is don’t just assume it’s tendonitis, like I was told for years, especially if you aren’t getting any relief at all from exercise or stretching.  Stretching only made mine worse, and I was doing it for years.  Kinda makes me sick knowing that now.  

Edited November 27, 2022 by rodge

[Ri_Redneck]

Been playing graphite irons for close to 10 years. Hitting off mats would kill me. Now, I practice off mats with no issues at all. Graphite shafts today CAN surpass steel in every way. But don't assume they all do! Do your research and test before you buy.

 

BT 

[rodge]

I probably should add more context to my gross post-surgery pic above.   Got a message about graphite shafts- and I can only say I feel like an investor for Aerotech over the years.  Sometimes nothing can help except surgery and I hope people consider that when it’s unbearable.  My biggest regret is not having this done many years ago.  

Edited November 27, 2022 by rodge

[hammergolf]

19 hours ago, T Creer said:

Will graphite iron shafts help my elbow pain? It hurts on both top and bottom of elbow. 

Absolutely! Had chronic wrist and elbow problem for years. Switched to lighter graphite iron shafts 10 yrs ago and haven’t hurt since.

[phizzy30]

5 hours ago, rgk5 said:

No and actually there was no pain from the injury. Amazing.

Indeed.  My brother had the same type of bruising around his elbow last year.  Said it was from hitting off the mat.  His hurt but wasn't a bicep tendon tear either and doctor told him to rest it for 4-6 weeks.  It's fine now. 

[Haber]

Switched to graphite a few months ago and my elbow pain has pretty much subsided now. It’s a very slow healing injury but it’s coming along. I switched from hitting balls off the main mat at the range to the fluffier rough-like strip that you put the rubber tee in and it has alleviated a lot of the stress on the tendon as well.
 

At its peak it was excruciating to pull the putter out of the bag late in a round and now I hardly even notice it at all. Just a bit of a dull ache after the round.

[Aces-6]

I've been playing Steelfibers for the past 10+ years because of left elbow pain and I can tell you with certainty it remedied the situation. I will occasionally hit some of my friends clubs with steel shafts and it only takes about 10 shots for me to understand why I don't play steel. 

 

I know you probably think that you're going to sacrifice feel, distance, trajectory, spin control and whatever else you convince yourself of but you won't. I have found, for me, that Steelfibers play very similarly to Dynamic Gold without the vibration and pain.

[Mob]

A lot of good advice here.  I had surgery 8 years ago for medial and lateral epicondylitis, which sounds like what you probably have as well.  Obviously, you need a doctor to confirm this.  I failed conservative treatment, which you should try first.  This is what my orthopedic surgeon recommended before surgery:

 

1.) Stop golf for awhile and let the elbow recover. Stay off of golf mats in the winter.  Also, don't spend much time on the range pounding balls during the season.  

2.) Stretch daily.  Arm straight out and bend fingers all the way up and hold for 1 minute, do several sets.  Arm straight out and bend fingers and hand all the way down and hold for 1 minute, do several sets.

3.) Consider wearing a wrist splint at night.  This takes the strain of the tendon insertion at the elbow, even though it seems counterintuitive to non-medical people.

4.) Anti-inflammatories if you have no contra-indication.

5.) Consider injections (PRP, steroids, etc.)

6.) Surgery is last option.  It worked well for me, I am 80% better.  Considering at it's worse, it woke me up and hurt to lift my hands up to my face when washing my face in the morning, I am very happy.

 

All that being said, I switched to graphite and will never go back to steel.  

[MFBach]

2 minutes ago, Mob said:

1.) Stop golf for awhile and let the elbow recover. Stay off of golf mats in the winter.  Also, don't spend much time on the range pounding balls during the season.  

Not something we like to hear and not very fun either either, but it’s easy to rush those injuries back. I know from past experience that I have a tendency to come back when I feel “better” rather than when I’m fully healed. The reality is that inflammation, agitation, discomfort, etc., while not a significant injury, can still take a few months to completely subside. 

[Colej]

Have any of you guys, with multiple inflammation spots ever considered cryotherapy? I do it quite often and I feel it does benefit me. 

[rgk5]

21 hours ago, T Creer said:

Holy hell rgk5, I think I’d start bowling if my arm looked that bad. Hope you get better soon. 

That was four years ago.  Nothing since. Thanks.

[rgk5]

7 hours ago, ARL67 said:

For OP, Yes go to graphite and maybe a softer grip.

I like the CP2 Wrap series for good comfort and control.

I'm a Steelfiber guy, but also would readily game Recoils too.

 

RGK5:  Wow that looks nasty !  Hard to believe you don't have any pain / discomfort.  Curious what your doc might say is going on.  Nice gun show BTW, you lift bro ?! 🤣

 

Used to back in my college football days.  Now just power bands.  Doc never defined the problem.

[Fuscinator]

If graphite shafts help, great, but you might still want to figure out how your swing is contributing to the problem. You could have a great swing for golf that's a bad swing for elbows.