The Elbow Pain Ruining Your WODs (And What To Do About It)

You are mid-WOD, the barbell feels good, your pull ups are flying, and then a gnawing ache creeps into the outside of your elbow. You shake it off and finish the session thinking it is nothing. But over the next few days, even lifting your coffee cup starts to sting.

If that sounds familiar, there is a good chance you're dealing with lateral epicondylitis, more commonly known as tennis elbow. You don't need to have picked up a racket in your life to get it, and despite what it sounds like, it responds really well to the right treatment.

What Is It?

Tennis elbow is an overuse injury to the tendons on the outside of your elbow. Those tendons belong to the muscles that control your wrist and fingers, which means every time you grip, pull, or lift, they are working. Do enough of that over time without adequate recovery, and the tendon starts to break down faster than it can repair itself. What you are left with is pain, stiffness and a grip that will not let you do anything in the gym.

Why Do CrossFitters Keep Getting It?

A typical session can combine pull-ups, toes-to-bar, rope climbs, kettlebell swings, add in cleans and snatches which place an increase in demand on the forearm and grip, and you've got tendons under significant load, repeatedly, week after week.

But CrossFit is not the problem.

What usually tips people over the edge is not one dramatic moment. It is a gradual build-up, you ramp up your training volume, come back from a break and try to pick up exactly where you left off, or tackle a new skill your tendons were not ready for. The elbow tends to be the last thing to complain but when it does, it really screams at you, and can do for a long time.

In our experience, high volumes of rig work tends to be the big trigger, especially if you are not using your lats enough and all the load is coming through your elbows.

Does This Sound Like You?

Tennis elbow tends to show up as:

- Pain or tenderness on the outside of your elbow

- Aching when you grip or twist such as opening a jar, lifting a kettle

- Discomfort that builds during or after training

- Morning stiffness that eases once you're warmed up

It is worth getting it properly assessed rather than guessing, because there are other things that can cause similar elbow pain, and what is driving it for you might be different from the next person.

What We Do About It At Proactive

The old advice for tendon injuries was rest and hope. We know better now. Tendons actually need load to heal, the key is applying the right amount at the right time and building back up gradually.

Shockwave therapy is something we use a lot for stubborn elbow pain, and the research behind it is solid. It delivers sound waves directly to the tendon, stimulating blood flow and kick-starting the healing process in tissue that has become stuck. For people who have been struggling for weeks or months without improvement, it can make a real difference. Sessions are short, around 10–15 minutes, and most people notice a significant change within a handful of treatments. That said, it works best as part of a broader plan, not as a standalone fix.

Rehab exercises are non-negotiable. We'll build you a specific programme that progressively loads the tendon through isometric and eccentric exercises, starting gently and building up in a way that does not just manage the pain but makes the tendon stronger long-term. This is what we mean by treating the tendinopathy, not just the symptoms. The goal is to get you back to training properly, not just comfortable enough to get through the day.

We'll also look at the bigger picture. Elbow pain is sometimes being fed by stiffness in the neck or upper back (thoracic spine), compensation for other muscles not recruiting efficiently or the way you are moving under load. If there's something else contributing, we will find it and address it, so you're not back in clinic six months later with the same issue.

When To Come In

Do not wait until you can't grip a barbell. The earlier you get it looked at, the quicker the recovery. If you have had elbow pain for more than two weeks that is not settling on its own, or it's starting to creep into daily life, that's your sign to get it seen.

Tendon injuries that are left too long take longer to fix, it really is as simple as that.

The Short Version

Tennis elbow is incredibly common in CrossFit, often misunderstood, and very fixable. You do not have to push through it indefinitely or stop training altogether.

At Proactive Chiropractic Cardiff, we'll get to the bottom of what is going on, use shockwave therapy where it will make a difference, and build you a plan that works around your training, not simply prescribing rest.

Ready to get your elbows sorted? Book in for an assessment.