Conditions
Elbow & wrist pain
Most elbow and wrist pain in active people is a capacity problem: tennis elbow, golfer's elbow, lifter's wrist, and TFCC irritation all come from tissue loaded faster than it could adapt. At Next Move in Orlando, a 60-minute exam finds the tissue and starts hands-on treatment plus graded loading. We refer out anything that needs imaging or a physician first.
The outside of the elbow that lights up on every pull-up. The wrist that folds under a front rack. The pinky-side ache that only shows up in push-ups. Your elbows and wrists are the last link between you and the bar, the racquet, and the keyboard, and they collect the bill for every fault upstream.
The anatomy
What's actually going on in the forearm
Your forearm is a bundle of long, thin muscles that cross the elbow at one end and the wrist and fingers at the other. Most elbow and wrist pain in active people is one of those tendons, or the small structures on the pinky side of the wrist, loaded faster than it could adapt. Five problems account for most of it.
Tennis elbow
Pain at the outside of the elbow, where the muscles that extend your wrist and fingers anchor to bone. Plenty of people who get it have never held a racquet. It's a tendon asked to grip and pull more than it was prepared for: pull-ups, rows, kettlebells, a week of yard work, long days on a mouse. It behaves like a capacity problem more than an inflammation problem, which is why rest calms it and reloading brings it back.
The tell: A sharp or burning spot on the outer elbow, worse gripping, shaking hands, lifting a mug palm-down, or turning a doorknob.
Golfer's elbow
The same story on the inside of the elbow, where the wrist flexors and forearm rotators attach. Chin-ups, heavy curls, throwing, climbing, and, yes, golf all load this tendon hard. The ulnar nerve runs right past it, so irritation here sometimes comes with tingling into the ring and little fingers.
The tell: An ache on the inner elbow, worse gripping hard, making a fist, or curling. Often stiff first thing in the morning.
Lifter's wrist
Pain across the back of the wrist in the front rack, the overhead press, push-ups, and handstands: anything that jams the wrist into full extension under load. Usually it's a stiff wrist being forced past its range, or a wrist doing a job the elbow and shoulder should be sharing.
The tell: A pinch across the back of the wrist at the bottom of a push-up or the top of a clean, gone almost as soon as the load comes off.
TFCC injury
The triangular fibrocartilage complex is a small pad of cartilage and ligament on the pinky side of the wrist that ties the two forearm bones together and cushions the joint. It gets hurt in a fall on an outstretched hand, a hard twist, or by wearing down under repeated loaded rotation.
The tell: Pinky-side wrist pain, sometimes a click when you turn a doorknob or rotate the forearm, worse bearing weight through the hand or twisting under load.
Wrist tendinopathy
The tendons crossing the wrist run through tight tunnels, and a few are famous for complaining: the thumb-side pair, the pinky-side extensor, the finger flexors. Repetitive gripping, a new baby on the hip, heavy phone or mouse time, or a jump in training volume are the usual triggers.
The tell: Pain along one tendon line rather than deep in the joint, worse with the movement that tendon does, sometimes with a creaking feel under your fingers.
It usually starts upstream
The muscles that hurt at the elbow are the same ones that control your wrist and grip, which is why the two share a page. A stiff shoulder, a mid-back that won’t extend, or a wrist that won’t bend back all dump extra work on the same forearm tendons. We check the whole chain, neck to fingertips, before we decide the elbow is the problem.
The pattern
Why the strap and the rest never fixed it
You wore the strap. You stopped pulling for three weeks. It felt fine, you went back, and by the second week of pull-ups it was there again. Rest and bracing lower the load on the tendon. Neither one raises what the tendon can handle.
Tendons adapt slowly and to specific loads. The forearm tendons that ache after gripping got that way because demand climbed faster than they could keep up: a new weighted chin-up PR, a first month of climbing, a thicker bar, a desk job layered on top of a lifting habit. Bracing, rubbing the sore spot, and full rest all lower the demand for a while, which is why they feel like they work. Then the demand comes back and the tendon is exactly as underprepared as the day it started hurting. The fix is a loading plan the tendon can adapt to, plus an honest audit of what upstream is handing the forearm extra work.
The strap-and-rest cycle
- Wear a counterforce strap or wrist wraps on every set and hope
- Rest until it stops hurting, then reload and reflare
- Rub or massage the sore spot on the bone
- Adjust the elbow, hand over a stretch sheet, come back next week
The capacity fix
- Test the whole chain: grip, forearm, elbow, shoulder, mid-back, and neck
- Keep training with grip and range modifications while it calms down
- Load the tendon progressively, including slow eccentric work
- Rebuild wrist range and forearm strength for the positions your sport demands
How we treat it
The four-step pathway, applied to your elbow and wrist
Same structure as every Next Move plan: here's what each step looks like when the problem is a cranky forearm tendon, a wrist that won't take load, or a pinky-side ache that won't quit.
Assess & Collaborate
An hour on the whole arm, not just the sore spot. Grip strength side to side, resisted wrist and finger tests that help separate tennis elbow from golfer's elbow from a nerve problem, wrist range in the positions that hurt, and a look up the chain at shoulder, mid-back, and neck. Plus a training and work history, because forearm pain almost always has a volume story.
Reduce Pain
Hands-on care to calm the irritated tendon and free the tissue around it: manual muscle work and IASTM through the forearm, cupping where the tissue is guarding, adjustments to stiff wrist, elbow, and mid-back joints, and shockwave for stubborn tendon pain when it fits your case. Meanwhile we swap grips and shorten range so you keep training.
Fix Your Patterns
Rebuilding what the pain interrupted: slow, loaded wrist extension or flexion for the tendon itself, grip and forearm strength that outlasts a set, wrist range for the racks and presses that pinched, and shoulder and mid-back mechanics so the forearm stops doing everyone else's work.
Become Resilient
Back to weighted pull-ups, front squats, throwing, or a full round of golf without thinking about your elbow, with capacity built past what your sport demands, so the next volume jump makes the tendon stronger instead of lighting it up again.
Who to see first
Chiropractor, physical therapist, or orthopedist for elbow and wrist pain?
Gripping, pulling, and pressing injuries build slowly, and where you start matters less than the plan that follows. Here is what each option does well, and when the arm needs a specialist before anyone treats it.
Sports chiropractor at Next Move
The elbow that barks on pull-ups or curls, the wrist that folds in the front rack, the pinky-side ache that shows up when you twist under load, and any forearm pain that has lasted more than a few weeks without a clear injury. You get the assessment, hands-on treatment, and a loading plan in one 60-minute visit, and you can book directly without a referral. Not the right first stop for a fall with deformity, a wrist that hurts on the thumb side after landing on your hand, a hot swollen joint, or numbness that is spreading.
Physical therapist
You already have a diagnosis and a referral, or your surgeon wants a structured program after a fracture, a TFCC repair, or a tendon release. On the elbow and wrist, good PT and good sports chiropractic land on the same thing, progressive loading. If that is already happening for you, keep going.
Orthopedist, hand specialist, or your physician
A fall or crash, a joint that won't straighten or rotate, numbness or weakness in the hand that is spreading, wrist pain with a click and a feeling of instability, or elbow pain that hasn't moved after a proper course of rehab. They can order X-rays, MRI, or nerve testing, discuss injections, and decide whether a TFCC tear or a nerve needs a procedure. Worth knowing: for tennis elbow, a steroid injection tends to help in the short term and then leave people worse off in the following months, so a good physician will usually send you back to loading anyway.
What about imaging?
Most elbow and wrist pain in active people doesn't need imaging up front; the exam finds the tissue. X-rays earn their place after a fall, since a small wrist bone can break with a normal first X-ray and gets re-imaged or scanned rather than treated, and MRI or nerve testing is reserved for suspected TFCC tears, instability, spreading numbness, or pain that hasn't responded to a real rehab trial. If the exam raises any of those, you leave with a referral to a physician, orthopedist, or hand specialist and we stay in the loop on the plan.
Honesty first
When the arm needs someone else first
Most elbow and wrist pain in active people is an overloaded tendon or a stiff joint, and it rebuilds well with the right plan. A few presentations need imaging or a physician before anyone touches a treatment table.
Get same-day medical care first if you have
- A fall or crash followed by visible deformity, or a wrist or elbow you can't move
- Wrist pain on the thumb side after landing on an outstretched hand, even if it feels like a sprain
- A hot, swollen elbow or wrist with fever or chills
- Numbness or weakness in the hand that is spreading, wakes you at night, or makes you drop things
- Arm pain with chest pressure, shortness of breath, or sweating: call 911
This isn’t a diagnosis. It’s the triage line we won’t blur. A fall onto the hand can break a small wrist bone that feels like a sprain and hides on the first X-ray, so a tender thumb-side wrist after a fall gets imaged before it gets treated. Spreading numbness or weakness means a nerve needs a physician’s assessment, and hand numbness that wakes you at night is a carpal tunnel question, not something to sit on. Those come first.
The gradual stuff is exactly what the exam is built for: the elbow that barks on pull-ups, the wrist that folds in the front rack, the ache that only shows up in push-ups. And if you’re not sure which bucket your arm is in, the free 15-minute consult is the easy way to find out.
Start here
One hour to a real answer
Flat, published, cash-based pricing. Your first visit is a full hour, one-on-one with the doctor: grip and strength testing, a look at the positions that hurt, a working diagnosis, and your first treatment.
New Patient Exam
$150
60 min
A full hour, one-on-one: history, movement assessment, root-cause diagnosis, and your first treatment.
Start hereFree Consultation
$0
15 min · telehealth
Not sure if this is the right fit? Talk through your injury with Dr. Nguyen before booking anything.
Book a free consultWhere to start
Chiropractor, physical therapist, or orthopedist for elbow and wrist pain?
Gripping, pulling, and pressing injuries build slowly, and where you start matters less than the plan that follows. Here is what each option does well, and when the arm needs a specialist before anyone treats it.
Sports chiropractor at Next Move
The elbow that barks on pull-ups or curls, the wrist that folds in the front rack, the pinky-side ache that shows up when you twist under load, and any forearm pain that has lasted more than a few weeks without a clear injury. You get the assessment, hands-on treatment, and a loading plan in one 60-minute visit, and you can book directly without a referral. Not the right first stop for a fall with deformity, a wrist that hurts on the thumb side after landing on your hand, a hot swollen joint, or numbness that is spreading.
Physical therapist
You already have a diagnosis and a referral, or your surgeon wants a structured program after a fracture, a TFCC repair, or a tendon release. On the elbow and wrist, good PT and good sports chiropractic land on the same thing, progressive loading. If that is already happening for you, keep going.
Orthopedist, hand specialist, or your physician
A fall or crash, a joint that won't straighten or rotate, numbness or weakness in the hand that is spreading, wrist pain with a click and a feeling of instability, or elbow pain that hasn't moved after a proper course of rehab. They can order X-rays, MRI, or nerve testing, discuss injections, and decide whether a TFCC tear or a nerve needs a procedure. Worth knowing: for tennis elbow, a steroid injection tends to help in the short term and then leave people worse off in the following months, so a good physician will usually send you back to loading anyway.
When imaging makes sense
Most elbow and wrist pain in active people doesn't need imaging up front; the exam finds the tissue. X-rays earn their place after a fall, since a small wrist bone can break with a normal first X-ray and gets re-imaged or scanned rather than treated, and MRI or nerve testing is reserved for suspected TFCC tears, instability, spreading numbness, or pain that hasn't responded to a real rehab trial. If the exam raises any of those, you leave with a referral to a physician, orthopedist, or hand specialist and we stay in the loop on the plan.
Questions
Straight answers
Does tennis elbow go away on its own?
Often, eventually. The NHS says it usually settles with rest over a few weeks but can last more than a year, and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons reports that roughly 80 to 95 percent of people do well without surgery. The catch is the word eventually. Waiting it out is the slow lane, and it does nothing to stop the next flare when you reload. A graded loading plan is what shortens the wait and keeps it from coming back.
Can I keep lifting or playing with tennis elbow or golfer's elbow?
In most cases, yes, if the dose changes. A tendon that gets fully rested comes back exactly as underprepared as it left, so the goal is a load it tolerates now: lighter pulls, a neutral or thicker grip, straps for the heaviest sets, shorter range, fewer sessions a week. In a 60-minute one-on-one visit we watch you grip and pull and change one variable at a time instead of guessing. Sharp pain, weakness, or numbness into the hand means stop and get assessed.
Is shockwave therapy good for tennis elbow?
Honest answer: the evidence is thin. A Cochrane review of nine placebo-controlled trials found shockwave gives little or no benefit for pain and function in lateral elbow pain, and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons notes it is still considered experimental by many doctors. So we don't build an elbow plan around it. Loading is the medicine. Shockwave is an adjunct we may use for stubborn tendon pain when the exam says it fits.
How long does wrist pain from lifting take to heal?
It depends on what it is. Wrist pain from a stiff wrist forced into the front rack or a push-up is usually the quickest to settle once the position is modified and range starts to come back. A tendon that has been irritated for months adapts on a slower clock. A TFCC injury on the pinky side is slower still: Cleveland Clinic describes bracing and rest first, with surgery reserved for cases that don't respond. The exam tells us which one you have, and the plan gets a horizon.
Do wrist wraps and elbow straps actually help?
As tools, yes. As the plan, no. Wraps and counterforce straps reduce load on the wrist or tendon during a set, which is useful on the heaviest work while a flare calms down. They don't build capacity, and worn on every set they hide the weak link the pain was pointing at. We use them the way we use a lighter bar: temporarily, while the wrist range, forearm strength, and tendon tolerance underneath are rebuilt.
Tennis elbow or golfer's elbow: which one do I have?
Location is the first clue: tennis elbow hurts on the outside of the elbow, golfer's elbow on the inside. Resisted testing sorts most of the rest: outer pain when you extend the wrist or middle finger against resistance points to tennis elbow, inner pain when you flex the wrist or grip hard points to golfer's elbow. Tingling into the ring and little fingers can travel with golfer's elbow, since the ulnar nerve runs past it. Night numbness in the thumb, index, and middle fingers is a different problem, carpal tunnel, with a different referral.
Keep reading
Where to go next
Ready to make your next move?
Book online in under a minute, or start with a free 15-minute consult and make sure we’re the right fit first.