The names ‘tennis’ and ‘golfer’s’ elbow always make me laugh. The pain is not caused by playing golf or by playing tennis. This is, of course, a movement limitation issue.
Let’s break down what’s happening:
What is Golfer’s Elbow?
With golfer’s elbow, you’ll tend to see people with a valgus elbow presentation.
This means the elbow looks more twisted-in and close to the body from the rear view
It’s basically the same as a valgus knee (knock-knee) but at the elbow
With a valgus elbow, everything is turned out into external rotation, which causes:
The elbow to screw in towards the body
The hand to be dumped in to produce a compensatory internal rotation
This lack of internal rotation throughout the chain causes quite the twist at the elbow, leading to pain on top of the ‘bony lump’ (medial epicondyle).
Why Am I Lacking Internal Rotation?
You will likely be having a hard time expanding the chest wall on that side.
This diminishes your ability to produce internal rotation at the elbow and shoulder.
How to Improve Golfer’s Elbow Pain
If you have golfer’s elbow pain or a valgus elbow, you should be doing exercises that:
Include a bent or flexed elbow
Keep the hand pronated (palm down)
Really drive expansion of the chest wall
Think:
A side-plank position on that side
A triceps workout on cables with your elbows reached out in front of you
Key Takeaway Messages for Golfer’s Elbow
Avoid locking / hyperextending the arm when you train.
This places focal load on the tissue attaching to the medial epicondyle and will cause discomfort.
Do everything with a pronated wrist (palm facing down).
Avoid palm-up (supinated hand) exercises when the arm is fully extended.
Remember this is a movement limitation at the ribcage.
Exercises that arch the back, squeeze shoulder blades together, or ‘crunch’ the front of the body will compress the area further and diminish elbow movement/rotation.
Strength train those lateral triceps!
If you’re struggling with tennis or golfer’s elbow pain, the issue goes way beyond just the elbow itself — look up the chain and focus on movement quality and chest wall expansion to resolve the root cause.