Golf Injuries: Low Back, Elbow, Wrist, Sun and When to See a Pro

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Sunday morning, first tee, 7:40. Nobody has hit a ball yet. A couple of air swings, a joke about last week, and then the driver comes out cold. Three holes later someone is rubbing their lower back, and by the back nine a friend is shaking out the inside of his elbow after a fat shot off a tree root. Golf looks gentle, but the swing is a fast, twisting movement repeated hundreds of times a week by juniors, college players, tour pros and 70-year-olds alike. This page covers the golf injuries that keep showing up, what the research says about prevention and warming up, and the signs that mean it’s time to see a professional.

This page is general information, not medical advice. If you’re hurt, see a sports medicine doctor, physical therapist (PT) or certified athletic trainer (AT). For the bigger picture of the sport, start at our golf hub.

How often golfers get hurt

Per round, golf is a low-injury sport. A 2024 meta-analysis of seven studies (almost 270,000 rounds) found about 2.5 injuries per 1,000 rounds of 18 holes, and about 1.3 per 1,000 among amateurs. Over a lifetime the picture changes, because golfers play for decades. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) cites research showing that 73.5% of professionals and 56.6% of amateurs have had a golf-related musculoskeletal injury. Most are overuse injuries from the same motion repeated again and again. A classic literature review found that overuse injuries dominate in pros, while amateurs more often get hurt because of a faulty swing.

The most common golf injuries

Low back pain

The low back is the number one complaint at every level. AAOS puts it at up to 34% of golf injuries, and in a survey of 522 women in a club competition, 35.2% reported a golf injury in the previous year, with the lower back hurt most often. The rotation of the swing loads the spine and the muscles around it, and AAOS points to poor flexibility and weak muscles as reasons a minor strain can become a bigger problem. Back pain that spreads down a leg, or comes with numbness, tingling or weakness, needs a doctor rather than a few days off.

Golfer’s elbow (and tennis elbow)

AAOS lists golfer’s elbow, or medial epicondylitis, as the second most common golf injury. The tendons of the forearm muscles that attach to the inside of the elbow get worn and frayed by repeated loading. AAOS describes pain or burning on the inner elbow, sometimes shooting toward the hand, plus a weaker grip; numbness or tingling in the ring and little fingers can mean the nearby ulnar nerve is irritated. It’s most common between 40 and 60. Pain on the outside of the elbow is tennis elbow, which golfers get too. Most cases settle with several months of nonsurgical care, often including a counterforce brace (AAOS says it limits the force through the injured tendons) and a strengthening program, with eccentric exercises thought to be especially helpful. A PT can set that up.

Wrist and hand: tendinitis and the hook of the hamate

AAOS includes wrist injuries such as tendinitis, along with hand tenderness, numbness and carpal tunnel syndrome, among common golf problems. One wrist injury deserves its own warning. The hamate is a small bone on the little-finger side of the palm, right where the butt of the club presses. A 2024 review of golf-related fractures found the hook of the hamate is the second most common site of swing-related stress fractures (after the ribs), and that these fractures are often first written off as a soft-tissue strain. Signs include tenderness at the base of the palm on the little-finger side, a weaker grip, pain when you swing a gripped club, and sometimes tingling in the ring and little fingers. A plain X-ray can miss it; a CT scan is the usual way to confirm it, so tell the doctor you play golf.

Shoulder

The lead shoulder (the left shoulder for a right-handed golfer) is the most vulnerable, according to a review in the American Journal of Sports Medicine. Common problems include impingement, rotator cuff tears, arthritis at the AC joint and in the main shoulder joint, and instability. Most respond to rest and a structured physical therapy program, and small swing changes can help.

Hip, knee and ribs

AAOS names the hip, knee and ankle among golf injury sites too. Two points for older golfers: rib stress fractures are the most common swing-related stress fracture in the 2024 fracture review, so sharp chest-wall pain that started with a lot of practice deserves a look. And joint replacement doesn’t have to end your golf. A 2023 meta-analysis found 90% of golfers returned after hip replacement, 80% after shoulder replacement and 70% after knee replacement, at about 4.4 months on average. The timing is your surgeon’s call.

Sun, heat, lightning and flying balls

Some of golf’s biggest health risks have nothing to do with the swing. Sun: a round is four or five hours outdoors, often in the middle of the day. In an Australian study, 27% of golfers reported a skin cancer diagnosis versus 7% of the general population, and golfers were 2.42 times as likely to report one after adjusting for age and other factors. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) recommends a broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen of SPF 30 or higher, reapplied every two hours and right after sweating. AAOS adds a hat and UVA/UVB-blocking sunglasses. Any new, changing or bleeding spot on your skin should be seen by a dermatologist.

Heat: the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) lists fatigue, dizziness, headache, nausea and fainting as signs of heat exhaustion. Confusion, staggering or odd behavior can mean heat stroke, which is an emergency: call 911 and start cooling right away. Some medicines, including antihistamines and diuretics, raise the risk. Lightning: the Rules of Golf let any player stop play if they reasonably believe there is danger from lightning, and NATA’s rule is simple: when thunder roars, go indoors. Balls and clubs: a scoping review of golf and health found accidental head injuries are rare but can be serious. If anyone is hit in the head, follow the CDC HEADS UP advice: stop, watch for concussion signs, and call 911 for danger signs such as worsening headache, repeated vomiting, slurred speech or increasing confusion. More on heat and sun is on our round day page.

Golf injury prevention: what the research shows

Warm up, and do it properly

When researchers watched 1,040 amateur golfers before play, only 54.3% did any warm-up at all, and most of those just made a few air swings. Does warming up prevent injuries? The honest answer is “probably, but it isn’t proven.” In the Australian women’s study, golfers who rarely warmed up were far more likely to report an injury in the past year. But a 2019 systematic review found the evidence linking warm-ups and injuries mixed and inconclusive. The same review found that dynamic warm-ups and those including resistance exercise tended to improve performance, while static stretching alone was the weakest option. The most encouraging trial so far is in teenagers: 45 high school golfers did either a back-pain prevention warm-up or a sham routine before golf for 12 weeks. The real program group had 16 episodes of low back pain versus 100 in the sham group, though the number of golfers who got back pain at all didn’t differ significantly. AAOS recommends warming up before every round: stretch the shoulders, back and legs, then hit balls starting with wedges and working up to the driver. Our golf training page has a 10-minute routine.

Get stronger where golf asks the most

• Back and trunk: AAOS suggests rows with rubber tubing and pull-downs from overhead (3 sets of 10, at least 3 times a week), plus yoga or Pilates for trunk strength and flexibility.
• Forearms: for golfer’s elbow, AAOS suggests squeezing a tennis ball for 5 minutes and light wrist curls and reverse wrist curls (4 sets of 10, 3 times a week).
• Swing and equipment: amateurs’ injuries are often linked to swing faults, and AAOS names improper technique and equipment as risk factors for golfer’s elbow. A lesson with a PGA professional, and clubs (shaft flex, grip size) that fit you, are part of prevention.
• Load: most golf injuries come from repetition. Add range sessions gradually after a layoff, rather than hitting three buckets on the first warm day of spring.

Gear many golfers keep in the bag

None of this prevents injuries on its own, and a strap isn’t a substitute for rehab, so ask your PT what fits your situation. Still, many golfers use a forearm strap like the Cho-Pat Golfer’s Elbow Strap (made for pain on the inside of the forearm; Cho-Pat sells a separate tennis elbow strap for the outside), a tube band set like Bodylastics for the rows AAOS describes, and a foam roller like the TriggerPoint GRID before and after a round.

When to see a sports medicine doctor, PT or athletic trainer

• Right away (emergency): a blow to the head with concussion danger signs, signs of heat stroke (confusion, collapse), chest pain or shortness of breath, or a possible broken bone.
• Within a few days: back pain with leg pain, numbness or weakness; sudden sharp pain in the palm or ribs during a swing; a shoulder that suddenly won’t lift.
• Soon: elbow, wrist or back pain that keeps coming back or gets worse over weeks, a grip that’s getting weaker, or pain at night or at rest. AAOS advises an evaluation when elbow symptoms build gradually and worsen over weeks to months.

A sports medicine physician diagnoses, a physical therapist runs rehab, and your golf professional helps once you’re cleared, since a swing change is often part of the plan. Return to golf usually runs from chipping and putting to short irons, then full swings and the driver, adding the next step only when the last one is pain-free. After the round, look after the basics on our golf recovery page.

Golf injuries: FAQs

What is the most common golf injury?

Low back pain, at every level. AAOS puts it at up to 34% of golf injuries, followed by golfer’s elbow.

Can I keep playing with golfer’s elbow?

Many golfers cut back rather than stop, but that’s a decision for your doctor or PT. AAOS lists activity changes, a counterforce brace and a strengthening program as first steps, and most cases improve over several months without surgery. Playing through worsening pain usually makes it last longer.

Does warming up before golf prevent injuries?

It hasn’t been proven in adults, but the signs point that way: golfers who skip warm-ups report more injuries, and a 12-week warm-up program cut low back pain episodes in high school golfers. Dynamic warm-ups also tend to help performance, so there’s little reason to skip one.

Why does the palm of my hand hurt after golf?

It could be a bruise or tendon irritation, but pain at the base of the palm on the little-finger side, with a weaker grip, can be a hook of hamate fracture. These are often missed at first, so see a doctor and mention golf.

Is golf safe after a hip or knee replacement?

Most golfers do return. A 2023 meta-analysis found return rates of 90% after hip replacement and 70% after knee replacement, at an average of about 4.4 months. Your surgeon decides when.

How often should golfers reapply sunscreen?

Every two hours and right after sweating, says the AAD, using a broad-spectrum, water-resistant SPF 30 or higher. That means at least once or twice during a typical round.