You do not have to play tennis or golf to get an elbow injury. In fact, most of the people we treat at PhysioFix in JP Nagar have never held a racket or a club. Office workers typing eight hours a day, homemakers scrubbing vessels and kneading dough, IT professionals glued to their laptops, gym-goers lifting weights with poor form: all of them walk in complaining of elbow pain, unsure whether it is tennis elbow or golfer's elbow. The two conditions sound similar but affect different tendons on opposite sides of your elbow, and knowing which one you have changes how you treat it.
Tennis elbow, medically called lateral epicondylitis, is pain on the outer side of your elbow. It happens when the tendons that attach your forearm muscles to the bony bump on the outside of the elbow (the lateral epicondyle) get overloaded and develop tiny tears. Repeated gripping, wrist extension, and twisting movements strain these tendons over time.
Despite the name, only a small fraction of cases actually come from tennis. In India, far more common causes include long hours at a computer mouse, continuous smartphone use, cooking with heavy vessels, tailoring, plumbing, carpentry, and weight training without proper technique. It is one of the most frequent overuse injuries we see in working adults between 30 and 50 years of age.
Golfer's elbow, or medial epicondylitis, is its mirror image. The pain sits on the inner side of the elbow, where the forearm's flexor tendons attach to the medial epicondyle. It develops from repeated gripping combined with bending the wrist downward and rotating the forearm, such as swinging a golf club, throwing a ball, chopping vegetables, wringing wet clothes, or doing bicep curls and pull-ups incorrectly.
Golfer's elbow is generally less common than tennis elbow, but we see it regularly in gym enthusiasts, cricketers, and home makers whose daily chores load the inside of the elbow repeatedly.
- Pain location: Tennis elbow = outer elbow. Golfer's elbow = inner elbow.
- Tendons involved: Tennis elbow affects muscles that extend the wrist (back-of-forearm). Golfer's elbow affects muscles that flex the wrist (palm-side forearm).
- Worse with: Tennis elbow flares with lifting palm-down (like lifting a chai cup or typing). Golfer's elbow flares with gripping and pulling palm-up (like pulling a door or lifting a bucket).
- Simple self-test: Bend your wrist back against light resistance. Outer-elbow pain points to tennis elbow. Bend the wrist forward against resistance; inner-elbow pain suggests golfer's elbow.
- Numbness: Golfer's elbow can occasionally cause tingling into the little finger because the ulnar nerve runs nearby. Tennis elbow rarely causes nerve symptoms.
Either type can bring a dull ache that worsens over weeks, tenderness when you press the affected bony spot, stiffness in the morning, weakness in grip strength, and pain that travels down the forearm. Many patients first notice it while shaking hands, turning a doorknob, holding a phone, or lifting their office bag.
The good news: both conditions respond very well to structured physiotherapy, and surgery is almost never needed. Treatment follows the same broad plan with small differences based on which side is affected.
Continuing the aggravating activity keeps re-tearing healing tendon fibres. We identify exactly which movements and daily habits are loading your elbow and modify them. For desk workers this often means mouse-hand changes, keyboard position corrections, and micro-breaks every 45 minutes. For homemakers it may mean alternating hands while doing chores and avoiding fully extended wrist positions under load.
- Ice packs for 10 to 15 minutes after activity
- Soft tissue release and gentle mobilisation of the forearm muscles
- Ultrasound therapy or other electro-modalities where appropriate
- A counterforce brace or elbow strap during work to offload the tendon
Research consistently shows that progressive tendon loading, not rest alone, produces lasting recovery. The cornerstone exercise is the eccentric wrist exercise. Sit with your forearm supported and hold a very light weight (start with 500 grams to 1 kg).
- For tennis elbow: Palm facing down. Use your other hand to lift the wrist up, then slowly lower it over four to five seconds using only the sore arm. Do 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps daily.
- For golfer's elbow: Same idea but palm facing up. Assist the wrist upward, lower slowly, 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps.
As pain settles, we progress to isometric holds, forearm pronation and supination with a hammer, grip strengthening with a soft ball, and finally full-resistance strengthening so the tendon tolerates real-life loads again.
If your technique at the gym, your workstation setup, or your daily routine caused the problem, fixing the exercise alone will not stop it from returning. We assess shoulder strength, neck mobility, and posture too, because elbow pain often has contributors higher up the chain.
With consistent physiotherapy, most mild cases improve within 4 to 6 weeks. Long-standing cases that have been ignored for months can take 8 to 12 weeks because tendons heal slowly. The biggest mistake patients make is stopping exercises the moment pain eases; the tendon needs continued loading to rebuild full capacity.
If your elbow pain has lasted more than two weeks, is worsening, or is affecting your work or sleep, get assessed rather than waiting it out. Seek care promptly if you notice numbness or tingling in your fingers, significant swelling, inability to bend or straighten the elbow, or pain following a specific fall or injury, as those signs need a closer look to rule out nerve involvement or other injuries.
At PhysioFix, Dr.Nishmitha.R assesses both conditions with detailed movement testing, confirms which tendon is involved, and builds a personalised loading programme you can continue at home. Whether your elbow pain comes from a cricket match, a keyboard, or a pressure cooker, early physiotherapy gets you back to pain-free movement faster. Book an assessment before the pain becomes chronic; elbows treated early recover dramatically better.
Whichever elbow tendon is irritated, the prevention plan looks similar. Build up gripping activities gradually, keep your wrist and shoulder muscles strong so the elbow does not absorb all the load, and never skip the eccentric strengthening phase of rehab. Most recurrences happen when people stop their exercises too early because the pain settled.
If your elbow pain has lasted more than two weeks despite rest, a physiotherapy assessment will identify exactly which tendon is involved and guide your recovery with a staged loading programme.
Try this quick check. Grip a full water bottle and lift it with your palm facing down; pain on the outer elbow points towards tennis elbow, while pain on the inner side suggests golfer's elbow. Resist bending your wrist upward with the other hand and note where the discomfort sits. These checks are not a diagnosis, but they help your physiotherapist plan the right loading programme for you.
