Is my elbow pain golfer’s elbow or tennis elbow?

Swinging your golf club or tennis racket. Raising your coffee mug to your lips. Opening a window. These are all common activities that involve using your elbow, and they can be harder to do if you have elbow pain. 

Two of the most common causes of elbow pain are golfer’s elbow and tennis elbow. These issues are known as medial and lateral epicondylitis, respectively, by medical professionals. It’s estimated that up to 3% of people are living with lateral epicondylitis, and studies show medial epicondylitis can affect up to 8.2% of workers in some occupations. A physical therapist can help you learn if golfer’s elbow or tennis elbow is the source of your elbow pain.

Three differences between golfer’s elbow and tennis elbow

Physical therapists are no strangers to treating both medial and lateral epicondylitis. However, these specialists know that many people mistake one condition for the other. The main reason for this is that many of their symptoms are so similar. 

Even so, there are also important differences between golfer’s elbow and tennis elbow. Here are three differences that can help your physical therapist learn which issue you have: 

1. Inflammation location — Both elbow conditions tend to cause inflammation. But the location of the inflammation is different depending on which issue you have. Lateral epicondylitis typically leads to inflammation on the outside of the elbow or forearm. Medial epicondylitis tends to cause inflammation on the inside of the forearm and/or elbow. 

2. Tendon affected — There are multiple tendons that connect muscles to the elbow joint. Medial epicondylitis affects the medial epicondyle tendon, which allows you to bend your wrist forward and close your fingers. Lateral epicondylitis affects the lateral epicondyle tendon. This tendon helps bend your wrist backward. It also helps you spread your fingers outward. 

3. Location of pain — Both forms of epicondylitis can cause pain and tenderness in the elbow, but the location of these symptoms is different for each type. Tennis elbow leads to pain and tenderness on the outside of your elbow; golfer’s elbow pain and tenderness occurs on the inside of the elbow. 

Need treatment for tennis elbow or golfer’s elbow? Advent Physical Therapy can help!

At Advent Physical Therapy, our specialists are adept at diagnosing and treating tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow and other issues that cause elbow pain. We offer complimentary screenings intended to pinpoint which issue is causing your pain. Our physical therapists also excel at building individualized therapy plans designed to reduce your symptoms and prevent their recurrence. 

Don’t have time to see us at one of our clinics? That’s OK! Our team can help you save the driving time thanks to the at-home care and virtual therapy services we offer. Additionally, you can start getting physical therapy from us even if you don’t have a doctor’s referral for it. 

Contact our team today for more information about how we can help treat your elbow pain or to schedule your initial appointment.