Elbow Treatment
Tendon injuries, stiffness, instability, and arthritis of the elbow.
The elbow is unforgiving. It stiffens readily after injury, it tolerates immobilisation poorly, and problems that would resolve on their own elsewhere in the body tend to persist here. That makes getting the diagnosis right early more valuable than it is in most joints.
Tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow
Pain on the outside of the elbow, worse gripping or lifting, is usually tennis elbow. Pain on the inside is usually golfer’s elbow. Despite the names, most people who get them do not play either sport: they arise from repetitive gripping and forearm use, which makes them common in trades, in office work, and after a change in activity.
These are problems of tendon degeneration rather than inflammation, which is why anti-inflammatories help the symptoms but do not treat the cause.
The great majority settle without surgery, but they settle slowly, often over six to twelve months. Treatment that actually works consists of a specific, progressive loading programme for the affected tendon, modification of whatever is aggravating it, and patience. Bracing helps some people. Injection has a limited role, principally to reduce pain enough to allow the loading programme to be done.
Surgery is reserved for the minority whose symptoms persist despite properly delivered non-surgical treatment over a sustained period. Emphasis on properly delivered: a great deal of what is described as failed conservative treatment turns out to be rest and hope rather than a structured programme.
Stiffness and loss of movement
The elbow stiffens after injury more readily than almost any other joint, and a stiff elbow is genuinely disabling because it interferes with reaching your own face.
Loss of full extension is often the first sign. Early guided movement prevents much of this, which is why we would rather see someone soon after an injury than months later. Established stiffness may need a release, arthroscopic or open, followed by a rehabilitation programme that has to be done properly to hold the gain.
Instability
The elbow can become unstable after a dislocation or a significant ligament injury, particularly where a fracture was involved. Symptoms are a sense of the joint slipping, apprehension with certain movements, or recurrent giving way.
Some instability settles with rehabilitation focused on the muscles that dynamically stabilise the joint. Where ligament damage is substantial, reconstruction may be needed.
Arthritis
Elbow arthritis causes pain at the ends of movement and progressive stiffness, often with loose fragments that catch. Where loose bodies or bone spurs are the main problem, removing them arthroscopically can restore useful movement without addressing the arthritis itself. Where the joint surface is broadly worn, the options are more limited and the discussion is a longer one.
Nerve problems
Numbness or tingling in the ring and little fingers, often worse with the elbow bent, suggests the ulnar nerve being compressed at the elbow. This is worth identifying early: nerves recover well when decompressed before there is muscle wasting, and considerably less well afterwards.
Work-related elbow problems
Repetitive strain injuries of the elbow are frequently work-related, and frequently disputed precisely because they develop gradually rather than starting on one identifiable day. That does not make them any less work-related, but it does mean the documentation has to be careful and needs to start early. See workers’ compensation.
What to expect
Most elbow problems are diagnosed on examination rather than on a scan. You will be examined, imaging reviewed or ordered where it will change the plan, and given a specific programme rather than a general instruction to rest.
Common questions
How long does tennis elbow take to settle?
Longer than most people expect. Many cases take six to twelve months to resolve, and most resolve without surgery. That timeline is frustrating but it is not a sign that treatment is failing.
Do I need a scan?
Often not. Tennis elbow and golfer's elbow are usually diagnosed on examination. Imaging is more useful when the picture is unclear, when there was a specific injury, or when symptoms have not responded to proper treatment.
Are steroid injections a good idea?
They can settle pain in the short term, but repeated steroid injections into a tendon may weaken it, and the long-term results are no better than rehabilitation alone. They have a role, used sparingly and usually to allow rehabilitation to proceed.
Is elbow stiffness after an injury permanent?
Not usually, but elbows stiffen more readily than most joints and respond less well to being left alone. Early, guided movement matters, and stiffness that has been present for a long time is harder to reverse.
General information, not medical advice, and no substitute for an examination. Treatment depends on findings only an examination can establish. Published by Ackland Sports Medicine. Last updated 2026-08-01.