Your elbow may feel sharp, tight, or sore during the first few golf swings because the tendons around the joint have stiffened up from repeated swinging and have trouble loosening quickly at the start.
Your elbow may hurt during your first few golf swings because the area feels stiff and irritated before the arm fully warms up. You might notice a pulling or grabbing feeling during the downswing or at impact, especially after recent practice sessions or back-to-back rounds. The repeated gripping and twisting of the golf swing can leave the tendons around the elbow sore and less flexible at the start of activity.
You may notice the first swing feels rough right away, almost like the elbow is not ready to move yet. The pain is often strongest during the first few practice swings or early shots, then gradually eases once your arm loosens up. It can feel sharp on the inside of the elbow, sore along the forearm, or tight when you grip the club firmly.
This pattern usually points to overworked tendons that stiffen up after rest or after repeated golf sessions. Even if the elbow feels mostly fine walking around or later in the day, the sudden twisting and gripping of the swing can wake the soreness back up quickly. You may also notice the elbow aches more the morning after hitting balls or tightens again after sitting for a while.
The Elbow Feels Locked Up During The First Few Swings
You may feel a sharp grab or tight pulling sensation right as the swing starts.
The tendons around the inner elbow can stiffen overnight or after long breaks between swings, making the first few motions feel restricted and painful. You might notice the elbow loosens gradually after several shots once circulation improves and the area starts moving more freely again.
Repeated Practice Keeps The Elbow From Fully Settling Down
You may notice the soreness keeps returning every time you practice or play multiple days in a row.
Repeated gripping, ball contact, and swinging can keep stressing the forearm tendons before they fully recover. The elbow may feel manageable during activity once warmed up, but the stiffness often returns later after the arm cools down again.
Why Your Elbow Could Be Taking Longer To Heal
Your elbow has a hard time healing when blood flow and circulation are limited.
Tendons, ligaments, and other soft tissues naturally receive less blood supply than many other parts of the body. Because of this, they often take longer to heal after repeated stress or injury, leaving you more vulnerable to lingering pain and a cycle of reinjury.
When circulation through the area remains limited, injured tissues have a harder time receiving the vital oxygen and nutrients they need to repair and heal. This can leave your elbow feeling stiff, tight, weak, or painful during everyday movement and activity.
What Can Help Your Elbow Feel Better
Your elbow starts feeling better when blood flow and circulation improve.
Chinese herbs have been used for centuries to promote healthy blood flow and circulation. Their medicinal properties help break up stagnant blood and fluids that remain trapped around injured tissues, interfering with circulation. As circulation improves, blood flows more freely through the area, allowing those tissues to receive the oxygen and nutrients they need to heal properly.
Topical herbal remedies made with these Chinese herbs can help relieve pain while improving blood flow and circulation to injured tissues. The right product depends on your symptoms and whether you're in the acute or chronic stage of recovery.
If you have pain, swelling, inflammation, or bruising, Acute Sinew Liniment helps relieve these symptoms by increasing circulation and dispersing stagnant blood and fluids around the injured area to speed recovery. During the acute stage of healing, getting circulation moving early allows injured tissues to receive the fresh blood, oxygen, and nutrients they need to repair and heal.
If your injured area is especially swollen, red, or warm to the touch after a recent injury or flare-up, Sinew Herbal Ice is also used to reduce swelling and inflammation while restoring normal circulation so you can quickly regain range of motion. While traditional ice is commonly used to reduce swelling, Sinew Herbal Ice acts as an ice alternative to reduce swelling and inflammation while also dispersing accumulated blood and fluids to speed the healing process.
If you no longer have swelling or inflammation, but still have pain, stiffness, weakness, or sensitivity in cold and damp weather, Chronic Sinew Liniment helps relieve these symptoms by strongly stimulating circulation and increasing blood supply to injured tendons and ligaments to promote their healing. This is especially important because tendons and ligaments naturally receive less blood supply, which is why chronic injuries can take longer to heal.
If you have residual pain and stiffness, or the area becomes more painful in cold weather, Sinew Injury Poultice is also used to significantly stimulate circulation to injured tendons and ligaments to further promote their healing. By strongly increasing circulation, it counteracts the reduced blood flow caused by cold weather that commonly aggravates chronic tendon and ligament injuries.
If you exercise, play sports, or do other strenuous activities, Sinew Sports Massage Oil warms and stimulates muscles for exertion and relieves muscle tightness and soreness after activity. Warming and preparing your muscles before activity can improve flexibility, enhance performance, and reduce the risk of injury.
Frequently Asked Questions
You may also find these commonly asked questions helpful.
Why does my elbow hurt more during the first few golf swings?
The elbow is often stiffest at the start of activity, especially after rest or repeated golf sessions that irritated the tendons the day before.
Why does the pain improve after I warm up?
Movement and circulation usually help the elbow loosen up, which can temporarily reduce stiffness and pulling during the swing.
Is this a sign of golfer’s elbow?
It can be. Pain on the inside of the elbow during gripping and swinging is commonly associated with golfer’s elbow and repeated tendon strain.
Why does my elbow tighten again after golf?
The area can stiffen back up once the arm cools down, especially if the tendons were stressed during practice or a long round.
Should I stop swinging if my elbow hurts early in the round?
If the pain keeps worsening, feels sharp, or affects your grip strength, it is best to reduce activity and let the elbow recover before pushing through it.
Recommended Products
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• Acute Sinew Liniment — Used when pain, swelling, and inflammation are present to relieve pain, reduce swelling and inflammation, and increase blood flow and circulation to injured tissues.
• Sinew Herbal Ice — Used when the injured area is especially swollen, red, or warm to the touch to reduce swelling and inflammation while restoring normal circulation and range of motion.
• Chronic Sinew Liniment — Used for pain and stiffness after swelling and inflammation are gone to relieve pain, strongly stimulate circulation, and promote the healing of injured tendons and ligaments.
• Sinew Injury Poultice — Used for chronic tendon and ligament injuries to significantly stimulate circulation and promote deeper tissue recovery.
• Sinew Sports Massage Oil — Used before or after activity to warm and stimulate muscles, increase circulation, relieve tightness, and improve flexibility in muscles and joints.
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The information provided here is intended to help you better understand your symptoms and recovery, but it is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Persistent, severe, or worsening symptoms should be evaluated by a qualified healthcare professional.
