Tennis elbow or golfer's elbow: which one do I have?
In short
Tennis elbow and golfer's elbow are the same kind of problem on opposite sides of the elbow. Tennis elbow hurts on the outside and flares when you lift with the palm down or straighten the wrist against resistance. Golfer's elbow hurts on the inside and flares when you grip hard or bend the wrist forward.
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What these two conditions are
Rest your forearm on a table palm down and run a thumb along each side of the elbow until you find the two bony bumps. Those are the epicondyles, where the forearm muscles anchor, the way a guy rope anchors onto a peg. The muscles that lift the back of your hand anchor onto the outside bump, and the muscles that curl your palm toward you and squeeze anchor onto the inside one.
Overuse pulls small tears into the tendon at that anchor point, and the tissue that fills in is not as good as what it replaces, so it stays sore. On the outside that is tennis elbow, or what we call lateral epicondylitis.1 On the inside it is golfer's elbow, or what we call medial epicondylitis.2 Neither needs the sport it is named after. Repetitive keying and mouse work, swinging a hammer all day, and lifting the same load the same way for months will bring on either.
Outside or inside: the test you can run yourself
Point one finger at the spot that hurts, then run two movements. If the sore point is the bump on the outside, and it stings when you pick up a full mug palm down or push the back of your hand against your other hand, the pattern fits tennis elbow.1 If the sore point is the bump on the inside, and it stings when you squeeze hard or curl the palm up against resistance, the pattern fits golfer's elbow.2
Two more things separate them. Tennis elbow pain often runs down the back of the forearm while golfer's elbow pain runs down the palm side, and golfer's elbow can come with numbness or tingling into the ring and little fingers, because the ulnar nerve passes behind that inside bump.2 That one matters, because numbness changes what needs examining. None of this is a diagnosis, and the exam settles it.
Side by side
| Tennis elbow | Golfer's elbow | |
|---|---|---|
| Medical name | Lateral epicondylitis1 | Medial epicondylitis2 |
| Where it hurts | The bony bump on the outside, sometimes radiating down the back of the forearm1 | The bony bump on the inside, sometimes radiating down the palm side2 |
| What hurts to do | Lifting palm down, gripping, shaking hands, straightening the wrist against resistance1 | Squeezing hard, bending the wrist forward, turning the palm down2 |
| Nerve symptoms | Not typical | Tingling or numbness into the ring and little fingers can occur2 |
| Where treatment starts | Rest, ice, palm-up lifting, an anti-inflammatory, a counterforce strap (quoted below) | Rest, ice, an anti-inflammatory and a brace, same principle2 |
What to do first, in order
- Rest the arm. Lay off the racket, the tool or the activity that reproduces it, because this is an overuse problem.
- Ice it often through the day, particularly right when symptoms start, to bring the swelling down.
- Lift with the palm up. Picking up a bag palm down is what hurts, so turning the hand over takes strain off that side.
- Take an anti-inflammatory medication such as ibuprofen to settle the inflammation.
- Wear the brace. For tennis elbow that is a counterforce strap, sitting about three fingers below the bony bump, pressure pad over the muscle rather than the sore spot.
- Add therapy once the pain has quieted, to strengthen those muscles rather than fight through pain.
An injection is a step in the ladder rather than the opening move, and Dr. Knight wants rest, bracing and therapy tried first. Surgery is considered only when that has not worked.
When to call us
- Elbow pain that has not settled after several weeks of rest, ice, a brace and an anti-inflammatory
- Numbness or tingling running into the ring and little fingers
- Grip that has weakened enough that you are dropping things
- Elbow pain that started with an injury rather than building up over weeks
What else do patients ask about this?
Can you have tennis elbow and golfer's elbow at the same time?
Yes. They are separate anchor points on opposite sides of the same elbow, and work that loads both can irritate both.
Do you have to play tennis or golf to get either one?
No. Keyboard and mouse work, hand tools and repeated lifting account for far more cases than the two sports.
Where does the tennis elbow brace go?
On the upper forearm, about three fingers below the bony bump, pressure pad over the muscle. Placed over the bump itself it does not work.
Sources
- OrthoInfo, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Tennis Elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis) Read 2026-09-04.
- OrthoInfo, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Medial Epicondylitis (Golfer's Elbow) Read 2026-09-04.