Golfer’s elbow—also known as medial epicondylitis—is a condition that causes pain and tenderness along the inside of the elbow. Despite its name, this overuse injury affects more than just golfers. Anyone who grips, twists, or repetitively uses their wrist and forearm muscles can develop symptoms.
In golfers, it often develops from repetitive swinging, especially when there’s poor mechanics or a breakdown in body movement patterns. Over time, this stress causes microtears in the tendons that attach to the inner elbow, leading to inflammation, pain, and loss of strength.
READ: How to Add Distance & Reduce Pain with TPI Golf Physical Therapy
Common Causes of Golfer’s Elbow
The elbow may hurt, but the root of the problem is often somewhere else. Many cases of golfer’s elbow can be traced to:
- Limited shoulder or thoracic mobility
- Weak core or poor trunk rotation
- Over-reliance on arm power instead of full-body movement
- Grip tension or overtraining without adequate recovery
When parts of the body aren’t moving efficiently, the elbow ends up doing more work than it should—especially during the golf swing. This repetitive overload leads to pain and, eventually, dysfunction.
How Golf Physical Therapy Supports Recovery
Recovering from golfer’s elbow takes more than just rest. While ice and anti-inflammatories might help short-term, lasting recovery requires improving the way the body moves and absorbs force.
At Lakas PT in Sacramento, our golf physical therapy program addresses both the symptoms and the root cause. Treatment includes:
- Hands-on soft tissue and joint mobilization to reduce tension
- Gradual loading of the tendons to rebuild strength and resilience
- Mobility work for shoulders, thoracic spine, and hips
- Swing-specific movement retraining based on TPI findings
By taking a comprehensive approach, we help golfers not only get out of pain—but return to play stronger and more balanced than before.
The Role of TPI in Golfer’s Elbow Rehab
TPI, or Titleist Performance Institute, offers a movement-based assessment tailored for golfers. At Lakas PT, our TPI-certified specialists use this system to evaluate how your physical limitations may be affecting your swing—and contributing to elbow pain.
The assessment includes tests for joint mobility, stability, posture, and rotational capacity. If, for example, your hips don’t rotate well or your thoracic spine is stiff, your swing may place extra strain on the arms and elbows. A TPI assessment identifies these deficits so we can correct them through targeted mobility, strength, and movement training.
This personalized approach ensures that golfer’s elbow recovery isn’t just about treating symptoms—it’s about fixing the physical limitations that caused them in the first place.
Get Back to the Course with Golf Physical Therapy in Sacramento
If elbow pain is holding back your game, it’s time to do more than rest and stretch. At Lakas PT, our TPI-informed golf physical therapy helps you understand the why behind your pain—and gives you the tools to move past it.
Visit our golf therapy page to learn more, or contact us to schedule your first session. You don’t have to swing through pain—let’s build a better way to play.
