How is golfer’s elbow different from tennis elbow?
Same disease, opposite side: golfer’s elbow affects the inner attachment (the muscles that curl the wrist and grip), tennis elbow the outer (the muscles that lift the wrist). Golfer’s elbow is more provoked by lifting palm-up, throwing, and pull-ups; tennis elbow by palm-down lifting and gripping.
I don’t play golf — why do I have it?
Most people with it don’t. Gripping trades, carrying, weight training (especially pull-ups and curls), throwing sports and climbing are the usual drivers — anything loading the wrist flexors repeatedly or suddenly.
What’s the tingling in my fingers?
Possibly the ulnar nerve, which passes directly behind the inner elbow. Tingling in the ring and little fingers alongside inner-elbow pain needs specific nerve assessment — it changes both diagnosis and treatment, and it’s part of our standard examination.
How long does recovery take?
Similar to tennis elbow: real improvement in 6–12 weeks of progressive loading, full recovery commonly 3–6 months. Throwing athletes need a staged return-to-throwing programme at the end.
Should I rest it completely?
No — complete rest deconditions the tendon and delays recovery. The skill is finding the load that stimulates adaptation without flaring the tendon, then progressing it steadily. That’s precisely what your programme prescribes.
Do injections help?
Evidence mirrors tennis elbow: short-term relief, no long-term advantage, and repeated injections risk harming the tendon — with the added caution of the ulnar nerve’s proximity. We treat injections as a rarely needed bridge, never the plan.
What does ACTYMED’s treatment include?
Measured diagnosis (including nerve screening), a progressive flexor-loading programme built from your baseline grip strength, dry needling of the overworked forearm flexors, manual therapy for the elbow and neck where indicated, and sport- or work-specific reloading — with grip-strength re-testing tracking the recovery.
When is surgery indicated for golfer’s elbow?
Rarely — the large majority resolve with progressive loading over months. Surgical debridement is reserved for cases that remain disabling after 6–12 months of genuinely completed rehabilitation, with the added consideration of the nearby ulnar nerve, which is assessed at the same time. As with tennis elbow, incomplete rehab — not failed rehab — explains most persistent cases.
