Why Does My Elbow Hurt During My Backswing After A Few Holes?

Your elbow may start hurting during your backswing after a few holes because repeated swings gradually tighten and overload the tendons around the elbow, making rotation and grip feel more painful as the round goes on.

You may first notice a mild ache in the elbow that only shows up on longer swings, then realize the backswing starts feeling tight, restricted, or sharp after a few holes. Sometimes the elbow feels fine walking between shots, but the moment you take the club back, the pain suddenly returns. The area can feel especially irritated if you have been gripping the club tightly or hitting a lot of shots from rough ground or hard turf.

This type of pain is commonly tied to repeated strain building up over the course of the round rather than one single swing. The tendons around the inner or outer elbow can gradually tighten as the arm absorbs repeated force from swinging, gripping, and contact with the ground. Once the area starts getting irritated, the elbow may feel less fluid during rotation and more sensitive during every backswing afterward.

The Elbow Starts Tightening As The Round Goes On

You may feel the backswing become more uncomfortable with each hole.

The elbow often feels looser early in the round, then gradually stiffens as repeated swings pile up. You might notice the first few swings feel normal, but later the elbow starts pulling or aching the moment the club moves backward. Fatigue in the forearm muscles can leave the tendons handling more stress than they comfortably can.

Gripping The Club Repeatedly Can Irritate The Tendons

The elbow may start hurting more when you grip tightly during the swing.

Repeated gripping keeps the forearm muscles working almost constantly during a round. If the grip pressure stays high for multiple holes, the tendons near the elbow can become sore and less flexible, especially during rotation in the backswing. You may also notice lingering soreness when picking up your bag, shaking hands, or twisting a doorknob afterward.

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 only start hurting after a few holes?

The tendons around the elbow may gradually tighten and fatigue during repeated swings, making the backswing more painful as the round continues.

Can gripping the club too hard cause elbow pain?

Yes. Constant tight gripping can overload the forearm muscles and irritate the tendons attached near the elbow.

Why does the backswing hurt more than the downswing?

The backswing places the elbow under rotation and tension while the forearm muscles stay engaged to control the club.

Is this golfer’s elbow or tennis elbow?

It can be either depending on where the pain is located. Inner elbow pain is more commonly linked to golfer’s elbow, while outer elbow pain is more common with tennis elbow.

Should I stop golfing if my elbow keeps hurting?

If the pain keeps returning or starts affecting normal grip strength and movement, reducing activity and getting the elbow evaluated is a good idea.

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.