Tennis Elbow and Golfer's Elbow: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Despite their names, tennis elbow and golfer's elbow are far more often seen in people who have never picked up a racquet or a golf club. Desk workers typing all day, parents lifting toddlers, tradespeople using hand tools, and home cooks chopping vegetables all develop these same overuse injuries — the names describe the classic movement pattern, not the only cause.

What causes tennis elbow and golfer's elbow

Both conditions are overuse injuries of the tendons attaching to the bony bumps (epicondyles) on either side of the elbow. Repetitive gripping, wrist bending, or forceful lifting causes small amounts of stress and micro-injury to these tendons over time, faster than the body can repair them — leading to pain, tenderness and weakness.

Symptoms to watch for

• Pain or burning on the outer (tennis elbow) or inner (golfer's elbow) side of the elbow
• Pain that worsens with gripping, lifting, or twisting motions like turning a doorknob
• Weak grip strength
• Tenderness when pressing directly over the affected bony bump
• Symptoms that build up gradually rather than starting from a single injury

How it's diagnosed

Diagnosis is usually clinical — based on the pattern of pain, tenderness location, and specific resisted-movement tests that reproduce the pain. Imaging (ultrasound or MRI) is not always needed, but may be used if symptoms are severe, persistent, or if another cause (like nerve involvement or a partial tendon tear) needs to be ruled out.

Treatment: the step-by-step approach

• Rest and activity modification: reducing or adapting the specific movements that aggravate it, without necessarily stopping all activity
• Ice for acute flare-ups, 15 to 20 minutes at a time
• Physiotherapy: eccentric strengthening exercises for the affected tendon are the most evidence-supported treatment, along with stretching and ergonomic correction
• Bracing: a counterforce strap just below the elbow can reduce load on the tendon during activity
• Medication or injections: anti-inflammatory medication or, in select persistent cases, image-guided injections
• Surgery: considered only rarely, for symptoms that persist despite 6 to 12 months of proper conservative treatment

The large majority of cases resolve with the non-surgical steps above — the key is consistency with physiotherapy exercises rather than only resting until the pain temporarily settles and then returning to the same aggravating movements. Our physiotherapy and rehabilitation service builds these programmes around your specific work or sport demands.

Related conditions worth ruling out

Elbow and forearm pain can occasionally be confused with nerve compression (such as cubital tunnel syndrome) or referred pain from the neck or shoulder. If your symptoms include numbness or tingling into the fingers, or if shoulder weakness is also present, it's worth mentioning this at your consultation — our guide on rotator cuff tears covers a different but sometimes co-existing source of arm pain and weakness.

For an independent overview, see the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons guide to tennis elbow.

Practical Guidance for Tennis Elbow and Golfer's Elbow

Why these conditions are so common in Pune's workforce

A large share of the tennis elbow and golfer's elbow cases we see have nothing to do with sport: IT professionals from Hinjewadi typing for long hours with poor wrist posture, tradespeople across Pimpri-Chinchwad using vibrating hand tools daily, and home cooks and parents repeatedly lifting or gripping. Recognising that the underlying cause is repetitive strain — not a single injury — is important, because treatment that doesn't address the trigger activity tends to relapse as soon as the person returns to their normal routine.

Ergonomic changes that actually help

• Adjust keyboard and mouse height so wrists stay neutral rather than bent upward while typing
• Take short breaks every 30 to 45 minutes during repetitive gripping tasks
• Switch to lighter tools or add cushioned grips where possible for manual work
• Warm up and stretch the forearm before racquet sports or golf, and consider technique review with a coach if symptoms recur

What a physiotherapy programme actually looks like

Effective treatment isn't just rest — it typically progresses from pain-relief measures (ice, activity modification, sometimes a brace) to specific eccentric strengthening exercises for the affected tendon, which have the strongest evidence for long-term improvement, and finally to a gradual return to the aggravating activity with better mechanics. This usually takes six to twelve weeks of consistent effort rather than a single appointment.

When to seek a proper assessment rather than waiting it out

Mild, short-lived elbow discomfort after an unusually busy day is common and often settles on its own. But pain that persists beyond two to three weeks, keeps you from gripping normally, or has been "managed" with painkillers for months without real improvement is worth a proper assessment — both to confirm the diagnosis and to rule out less common causes of similar pain, such as nerve irritation.

Why patients delay treatment, and why that backfires

It's common to dismiss elbow pain as minor and push through it for months, especially when it doesn't stop you from working entirely. The problem is that untreated overuse tendon injuries tend to become more stubborn over time as the tendon tissue degenerates further, meaning a case that might have resolved in six weeks with early physiotherapy can take several months once it's been ignored for half a year. Early, proper treatment is consistently faster and simpler than late treatment for this condition.

Self-care measures you can start today

• Reduce, don't necessarily stop, the aggravating grip or lifting activity while symptoms settle
• Apply ice for 15-20 minutes after activity that provokes pain
• Gently stretch the forearm muscles a few times a day, without forcing through sharp pain
• Avoid one-off heavy lifting or sudden forceful gripping while the tendon is irritated

Preventing a recurrence once you're pain-free

Once symptoms settle, the temptation is to go straight back to old habits — the same keyboard setup, the same grip technique, the same training load. Building in the ergonomic and warm-up changes permanently, not just until the pain disappears, is what actually prevents these very recurrence-prone conditions from becoming a repeating cycle every few months.

Elbow pain treatment in Wakad, Pune

Dr. Nirmal Patil, MS (Ortho), has 16 years of experience in orthopaedic and sports injury care at Precision Ortho Spine & Rehab Clinic in Wakad, Pune, treating patients from Hinjewadi, Baner, Pimple Saudagar and across Pimpri-Chinchwad — including many IT professionals and tradespeople whose elbow pain has nothing to do with sport at all. Persistent elbow pain that limits gripping or lifting is worth a proper assessment rather than months of guesswork.