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What Is In This Article
Can an injection ease golfer’s elbow pain?
Yes, a corticosteroid injection may ease golfer’s elbow pain for a period of time. Direct evidence found less pain at six weeks, while results matched saline injection by three months. Golfer’s elbow, also called medial epicondylitis, affects a tendon where the forearm muscles attach to the bony point on the inside of your elbow. The condition involves gradual tendon wear from repeated loading, so treatment focuses on rebuilding tendon strength.
A steroid injection can reduce pain, but you help the tendon recover by rebuilding strength and tolerance for gripping, lifting and wrist movement afterwards.
The comparison below separates pain relief from recovery.
| Question | Corticosteroid injection | Progressive rehabilitation |
|---|---|---|
| Likely effect | May reduce pain | Gradually rebuilds wrist and forearm strength |
| Expected duration | Relief commonly lasts less than six to eight weeks | Progress develops as you rebuild strength |
| Effect on the tendon | Evidence supports short-term symptom relief only | Progressive loading improves tolerance for future demand |
| Main role | May create a short period for rehabilitation | Forms the main treatment approach |
A golfer’s elbow injection needs a clear purpose. Temporary pain reduction may help you return to rehabilitation, but you first need to identify the source of your inner elbow pain.
The diagnosis behind inner elbow pain
Golfer’s elbow affects the common flexor tendon, also called the flexor-pronator origin, at the medial epicondyle. The medial epicondyle is the bony prominence on the inside of your elbow.
Pain often develops with repeated forceful gripping, bending the wrist or turning the forearm palm-down. You may feel tenderness at the inner elbow, with aching that extends into the upper forearm.
Recognised symptoms include:
- Inner elbow tenderness or aching that may spread into the upper forearm.
- Pain when gripping, lifting, making a fist or bending your wrist.
- Discomfort when you rotate your forearm.
- Reduced grip strength or elbow stiffness.
- Tingling or numbness in the ring and little fingers may indicate ulnar nerve involvement and require assessment.
The ulnar nerve runs through the cubital tunnel at the inner side of the elbow. Symptoms affecting the ring and little fingers can indicate ulnar nerve involvement, so the clinician needs to assess the nerve as well as the common flexor tendon.
The ulnar collateral ligament, elbow joint, unstable ulnar nerve and snapping soft tissues may each need a different treatment decision.
How ultrasound guides the decision
A musculoskeletal ultrasound scan helps assess whether the common flexor tendon matches your symptoms and examination findings. A scan can show tendon thickening, areas of altered tendon tissue, small tears or calcium deposits. It can also check nearby structures.
Rob Mast examines your elbow and scans it with ultrasound before deciding whether an injection has a useful role. The appointment can end with advice and rehabilitation when the findings point away from golfer’s elbow or when steroid relief would add little to your recovery plan.
Declining an unsuitable injection
A careful assessment can appropriately end without an injection. Your examination and scan may show that another structure is the main source of pain or that the likely short period of steroid relief would not support a useful rehabilitation plan.
Inner elbow pain linked to the ulnar nerve, ligament or joint needs a diagnosis-led approach for that structure. Those cases need treatment directed at the structure causing your pain.
Ultrasound guidance improves visualisation
During your scan, the clinician sees the tendon and adjacent structures in real time, guiding the needle towards the intended target. Dynamic scanning can also assess movement-related problems involving the ulnar nerve or nearby soft tissues.
Ultrasound guidance helps the clinician see the target and place the needle precisely. The medicine itself still has limited evidence for durable relief in golfer’s elbow.
Sonoscope charges £250 for an ultrasound-guided steroid injection. The fee includes clinical examination, diagnostic ultrasound, the injection and a written report.
People travelling from across Hertfordshire, including St Albans and Hertford, can have assessment, scanning and treatment considered in one visit.
Build the tendon’s future tolerance through rehabilitation
Progressive rehabilitation remains the main treatment for golfer’s elbow. Reducing the activities that provoke pain is useful at first, but the tendon also needs gradual loading to prepare it for future gripping, lifting and work demands.
A sensible recovery plan follows a clear sequence:
- Reduce the provoking load. Repeated forceful gripping or wrist loading may need temporary adjustment while the elbow settles.
- Build strength gradually. Rehabilitation commonly focuses on the wrist-bending muscles and forearm rotators that connect to the painful tendon.
- Return to demanding tasks in stages. Your symptoms and tolerance for loading guide the pace of return to work, exercise or sport.
A clinician may use an injection when pain prevents you from progressing with that work. Pain relief alone gives limited value if you return immediately to the same load that caused the problem.
Corticosteroid injections also carry recognised risks. These include a temporary pain flare, pigment change, thinning of the skin or underlying fat, infection and tendon rupture. Facial flushing, raised blood glucose, elevated blood pressure and adrenal suppression can also occur.
Judge the longer-term result by future function
After your first assessment, the useful measure is how well your elbow tolerates the activities that matter to you. A brief reduction in pain has value when it supports stronger grip, better loading tolerance and a practical rehabilitation plan.
If symptoms recur, the clinician needs to reassess the diagnosis, the demands placed on the tendon and the progress of rehabilitation. Persistent inner elbow pain can reflect a tendon problem, a nerve issue or another structure around the elbow.
As image-guided treatment becomes more available, clinicians need to select patients carefully. The strongest decision links the structure causing your pain with a realistic plan for restoring function.
Common questions about golfer’s elbow injections
How long does a cortisone injection for golfer’s elbow last?
Pain relief is variable and in some cases lasts less than six to eight weeks. Direct evidence found improvement at six weeks, with similar results to saline injection by three months.
Do I need an MRI scan or X-ray before an elbow injection?
No. A separate MRI scan or X-ray is unnecessary before a private assessment where clinical examination and diagnostic ultrasound provide the information needed. The clinician decides whether further imaging is needed based on the examination and scan findings.
Can golfer’s elbow pain spread down the forearm?
Yes. Golfer’s elbow can cause aching or tenderness at the inner elbow that extends into the upper forearm. Pain spreading with numbness or tingling in the ring and little fingers needs assessment for ulnar nerve involvement.
Can a steroid injection weaken the elbow tendon?
Yes. Tendon weakening and rupture are recognised risks of corticosteroid injections. The clinician should recommend an injection only when the likely short period of pain relief justifies that risk and supports a clear rehabilitation plan.
Can I restart exercises after an elbow injection?
Yes, when your symptoms and loading tolerance allow it. You should rebuild strength gradually. Reduced pain should not prompt an immediate return to heavy gripping or lifting.
This is general information, not medical advice.
Reviewed by Rob Mast, Advanced Practice Physiotherapist and Sonographer, Honorary Lecturer in Musculoskeletal Diagnostic Ultrasound at Brunel University.