Despite the names, most people who get tennis elbow have never picked up a racquet, and most people with golfer’s elbow have never swung a club. Both are repetitive strain injuries of the tendons around the elbow — common in anyone whose work or hobbies involve a lot of gripping, typing, lifting, or repeated wrist movement.
Tennis Elbow vs Golfer’s Elbow: What’s the Difference?
The two conditions are mirror images of each other, distinguished mainly by which side of the elbow hurts.
- Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) causes pain and tenderness on the outer elbow, often radiating down the forearm. It’s driven by small tears in the tendons that attach on the outside of the elbow, from repetitive wrist and finger extension — think typing, using a screwdriver, or a two-handed backhand.
- Golfer’s elbow (medial epicondylitis) causes pain on the inner elbow, from the same kind of microtearing on the tendons that attach there, usually from repetitive gripping and forceful wrist flexion — a golf swing, but also carrying heavy bags, hammering, or manual work.
Both are aggravated by lifting and gripping, and both tend to build up gradually rather than appear after a single incident.
Who Gets It, and Why
These aren’t sports-only injuries. Common contributors include:
- Repetitive occupational movement — typing, using hand tools, assembly-line work, hairdressing, or any job with sustained gripping
- Sports and hobbies — tennis and golf, but also badminton, rock climbing, and weightlifting with poor technique
- A sudden increase in activity — picking up a new sport, a home renovation project, or a training load jump without adequate conditioning
- Age — most common between 40 and 60, likely due to age-related changes in tendon quality
- Poor technique or equipment — an improperly sized racquet grip or golf club, or poor lifting form, increases strain on the tendon
If you’re in a job or hobby that involves hours of gripping or wrist movement, age alone doesn’t need to be present for this to develop.
Symptoms to Watch For
- Pain and tenderness localised to one side of the elbow (outer for tennis elbow, inner for golfer’s elbow)
- Pain that worsens with gripping, lifting, or twisting motions — opening a jar, shaking hands, or carrying a bag
- A weaker grip than usual
- Discomfort that radiates down the forearm toward the wrist
- Symptoms that build gradually over days or weeks rather than starting with a sudden pop or injury
Because both conditions come on gradually, many people push through weeks of low-grade discomfort before it’s bad enough to interfere with daily tasks — by which point it’s had longer to become chronic.
How It’s Treated
The reassuring news is that both conditions are managed conservatively in the vast majority of cases, and most people recover without surgery.
First-line, and usually all that’s needed:
- Rest and activity modification — reducing or temporarily stopping the aggravating movement
- Ice for acute pain and swelling, or heat for milder, longer-standing discomfort
- Stretching and strengthening exercises, often guided by a physiotherapist, to rebuild tendon capacity
- Counterforce bracing — a strap worn just below the elbow that reduces load on the tendon
- Technique correction — adjusting grip, equipment, or lifting form to remove the underlying cause
Conservative management is typically given a solid runway — commonly six months or more — before anything more invasive is considered, since these tendon injuries heal slowly but reliably with the right load management.
When conservative treatment doesn’t work: For the minority of cases that don’t settle with sustained conservative care, options include corticosteroid or other injections, and — as a last resort — surgery to remove the damaged tendon tissue, done either as an open procedure or arthroscopically. Surgery is reserved for persistent cases that have genuinely exhausted non-surgical options, not an early-stage treatment.
When to See a Specialist
Most mild, recent-onset elbow pain settles with rest and activity modification. It’s worth seeing a specialist if:
- Pain has persisted for more than a few weeks despite rest and reduced activity
- Grip strength is noticeably affected, or the pain interferes with work or daily tasks
- Pain doesn’t respond to basic self-care (ice/heat, over-the-counter pain relief, temporary activity changes)
- You’re unsure whether it’s tendon-related or something else — elbow pain can also come from nerve entrapment, arthritis, or referred pain from the neck
A specialist can confirm the diagnosis with a physical exam (resisted wrist extension for tennis elbow, resisted wrist flexion for golfer’s elbow typically reproduces the pain) and rule out other causes before starting a structured treatment plan.
Public vs Private Care in Singapore
As with other orthopaedic conditions, subsidised care at a public Specialist Outpatient Clinic generally requires a referral from a polyclinic or GP, with the Ministry of Health reporting a median wait of around 35 days for a subsidised referral versus roughly 12 days unsubsidised. Private orthopaedic and sports medicine clinics typically offer faster, direct-access booking at a higher out-of-pocket cost. Our guide to orthopaedic and specialist care in Singapore covers this decision in more detail.
The Bottom Line
Tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow are common, usually self-limiting with the right conservative care, and rarely need surgery. The main risk is letting a manageable, early-stage strain turn into a chronic, harder-to-treat problem by pushing through the pain instead of adjusting the activity that’s causing it. If elbow pain has lasted more than a few weeks or is affecting your grip and daily function, it’s worth a proper assessment rather than continued guessing.
