Why Golfers Get Tennis Elbow and Golfer’s Elbow (Even If They’ve Never Played Tennis)

If you’re a golfer dealing with pain on the outside of your elbow, you’re not alone.
You may notice it:

• During your swing
• After a round
• While gripping the club
• Even doing simple things like lifting a coffee cup or shaking hands

And despite the name, tennis elbow is extremely common in golfers.

At Lake Country Health Center in Delafield, we see this all the time—especially in golfers who are trying to play through it while hoping it will eventually calm down on its own.
Unfortunately, that rarely works for long.

The good news is this:
Tennis elbow is very treatable when you address the actual tissue problem—not just the symptoms.
That’s where treatments like focused shockwave therapy can make a major difference.

What Is Tennis Elbow?
“Tennis elbow” is the common name for a condition called lateral epicondylitis.
It involves irritation and degeneration of the tendons that attach to the outside of the elbow—particularly the tendons responsible for wrist extension and grip strength.
Despite the name, it’s not just caused by tennis.
In golfers, it commonly develops from:

• Repetitive swinging
• Hitting off mats
• Over-gripping the club
• Poor swing mechanics
• Sudden increases in play or practice
• Strength or mobility limitations in the shoulder, thoracic spine, or wrist

Golfers can also develop golfer’s elbow, known as medial epicondylitis, which affects the tendons on the inside of the elbow. While tennis elbow impacts the outer elbow, golfer’s elbow causes pain along the inner elbow and forearm, especially during gripping, wrist flexion, or impact through the swing.

Why Golfers Are Especially Vulnerable
The golf swing places enormous stress through the forearm and elbow—especially during impact.
Every swing transfers force from the club into the wrist, forearm, and elbow. Over time, those tissues can become overloaded.

This is especially true if:

• You’ve increased your playing frequency
• You’re practicing heavily
• You’ve changed equipment or swing mechanics
• You sit at a desk all day and already have tight shoulders or poor posture

We often find that golfers with tennis elbow don’t just have an elbow issue—they also have:

• Limited thoracic mobility
• Tight forearm musculature
• Weak scapular stabilizers
• Poor load distribution through the kinetic chain

The same movement limitations and overuse patterns that contribute to tennis elbow can also lead to golfer’s elbow, particularly in players who grip tightly or repeatedly strike the ground during practice.
That matters because if the body isn’t moving efficiently, the elbow ends up absorbing more stress than it should.

What Tennis Elbow Feels Like
Common symptoms include:

• Pain on the outside of the elbow
• Pain when gripping a golf club
• Weakness in the forearm or hand
• Pain with lifting, carrying, or twisting
• Discomfort after playing golf or working out

Many golfers also notice:

• Loss of clubhead speed
• Hesitation through impact
• Difficulty practicing consistently

With golfer’s elbow, symptoms are similar but typically occur on the inside of the elbow and may radiate into the forearm or wrist.

Why It Often Becomes Chronic
Here’s something many people don’t realize:
Chronic tennis elbow is usually not an inflammatory condition anymore.
Over time, the tendon becomes:

• Degenerated
• Disorganized
• Thickened and weaker

This is called tendinosis.
The same process can occur with golfer’s elbow as well, especially when symptoms are ignored and repetitive stress continues.
Once that happens, treatments that only focus on reducing inflammation often fail to produce lasting results.
That’s why:

• Rest only temporarily helps
• Cortisone shots may wear off
• Braces don’t solve the underlying issue

The tendon needs help healing—not just calming down.

How Focused Shockwave Therapy Helps Tennis Elbow
At Lake Country Health Center, one of the most effective tools we use for chronic tennis elbow is focused shockwave therapy.
Focused shockwave uses targeted acoustic energy to stimulate healing in damaged tendon tissue.
It works by:

• Increasing blood flow
• Stimulating cellular repair
• Improving tissue regeneration
• Breaking up chronic degenerative tissue
• Reducing pain sensitivity

In simple terms:
It helps restart a healing process that has stalled out.
Focused shockwave therapy can also be highly effective for golfer’s elbow by targeting the irritated tendon tissue on the inside of the elbow and promoting healthier tissue remodeling.
For golfers, this can be a game changer because the goal is not just symptom relief—it’s improving the quality and durability of the tendon itself.
What Treatment Is Like
When you come into our Delafield office, Dr. Brandon Meye and Dr. Daniel Murray will evaluate not only your elbow, but also the movement patterns and biomechanical issues contributing to the problem.

Shockwave treatments are:

• Non-invasive
• Fast (typically 10–15 minutes)
• Performed right in the office
• Done without injections or downtime

Most patients describe the sensation as a tapping or pulsing feeling over the irritated tissue.
Some mild soreness afterward is normal, but most people continue their normal activities the same day.
Why We Don’t Just Treat the Elbow
One of the biggest mistakes in treating tennis elbow is focusing only on where it hurts.
For golfers especially, the elbow is often the “victim,” not the true source of overload.
At Lake Country Health Center, we also evaluate:

• Shoulder mobility
• Thoracic spine rotation
• Wrist mechanics
• Grip patterns
• Posture and movement control

This helps us address the root cause—not just temporarily reduce pain.

Can You Still Golf During Treatment?
In many cases, yes.
Depending on the severity of the condition, we can often modify activity while the tissue heals rather than shutting everything down completely.
Our goal is to help you:

• Stay active
• Maintain your swing
• Recover as efficiently as possible
• Get back to playing without fear of re-injury

Who Is a Good Candidate for Shockwave Therapy?
You may be a great candidate if:

• Your elbow pain has lasted more than a few weeks
• It hurts during or after golf
• You’ve tried rest, braces, or stretching without lasting relief
• You want to avoid injections or surgery
• Your symptoms keep returning when you start playing again

Whether your pain is on the inside or outside of the elbow, identifying the correct tendon involvement is key to successful treatment.

The Bottom Line
If you’re a golfer struggling with tennis elbow or golfer’s elbow, the issue usually goes deeper than inflammation alone.
The tendon itself often needs help healing.
That’s why treatments focused only on pain relief frequently fail to create lasting change.
At Lake Country Health Center in Delafield, Dr. Brandon Meye and Dr. Daniel Murray use focused shockwave therapy and movement-based treatment strategies to help golfers recover the right way—so they can get back to playing confidently and without constant pain.

Ready to Get Back to Golf Without Elbow Pain?
You don’t have to keep playing through it. And you don’t have to wait for it to “just go away.”
If elbow pain is affecting your golf game, workouts, or everyday life, schedule an evaluation at Lake Country Health Center in Delafield.

We’ll help you figure out exactly what’s causing the problem—and build a plan to get you back on the course feeling strong again.