What it feels like
Most players describe a sharp, pinching pain at the front of the elbow whenever they try to straighten the arm fully — pushing off the ground, fending a defender, or reaching out to make a tackle. The elbow often feels like it 'stops short' before reaching the same position as the other side, and the area can feel tender to press just above the elbow crease.
How it usually starts
- A gradual onset of front-of-elbow pain over a few weeks rather than a single incident
- Or a specific moment — falling on an outstretched arm — followed by ongoing end-range pain
- Pain that is reproducible whenever the arm fully straightens
- Loss of the last few degrees of elbow extension compared to the other side
- Often no pain with simple bending or carrying objects
Telling it apart from other elbow problems
Rugby players get pain on the inside of the elbow (golfer's elbow / medial epicondylopathy), the outside (tennis elbow / lateral epicondylopathy), or under the nerves at the back. Anterior impingement is different — the pain is right at the front, on the crease, and is most obvious at end-range extension rather than gripping or twisting.
| Where it hurts | When it hurts | What it usually is |
|---|---|---|
| Front of elbow on the crease | Fully straightening, pushing off, fending | Anterior elbow impingement |
| Inside of elbow | Gripping, throwing, lifting palm-down | Medial epicondylopathy |
| Outside of elbow | Gripping, wrist extension | Lateral epicondylopathy |
| Back of elbow, into ring/little finger | Leaning on bent elbow, repeated flexion | Ulnar nerve irritation |
What clinic assessment looks like
- Comparing how far the elbow extends on each side
- Pressing the front of the elbow to find tender soft tissue
- Loading the elbow in end-range extension to reproduce the pain
- Screening the shoulder and wrist to rule out referred patterns
- Imaging (ultrasound or MRI) where symptoms persist or block extension significantly