Mi fa male il gomito destro dopo la palestra.

Mi means to me. In this sentence, Italian expresses the idea as my right elbow causes pain to me rather than using the English pattern my right elbow hurts.

So:

• Mi fa male il gomito destro = literally, The right elbow makes pain to me = natural English: My right elbow hurts

This indirect object pronoun is very common with body parts in Italian:

• Mi fa male la testa = My head hurts
• Ti fanno male i piedi = Your feet hurt
• Gli fa male la schiena = His/Her back hurts

Because fare male is the normal Italian expression for to hurt / to cause pain.

• fa = it does / makes
• male = badly / painfully, but in this expression it means pain

So mi fa male il gomito is the standard way to say my elbow hurts.

Italian often uses:

• fare male = to hurt
• fare bene = to be good for / to do good

Examples:

• Mi fa male il ginocchio = My knee hurts
• Questo rumore mi fa male alle orecchie = This noise hurts my ears

Because structurally the sentence works like this:

• il gomito destro = the thing that hurts
• fa male = causes pain
• mi = to me

So the body part is the grammatical subject:

• Il gomito destro mi fa male
• Mi fa male il gomito destro

Both mean the same thing. Italian often puts mi and fa male before the body part, especially in everyday speech.

Italian usually uses the definite article with body parts when the owner is already clear from context.

So instead of saying:

• my right elbow hurts

Italian normally says:

• mi fa male il gomito destro

The mi already tells us whose elbow it is, so my is unnecessary.

This is very common:

• Mi lavo le mani = I wash my hands
• Mi fa male la schiena = My back hurts
• Gli tremano le mani = His/Her hands are shaking

Using il mio gomito destro is possible, but it is usually more emphatic or contrastive.

In Italian, adjectives often come after the noun, and words like destro and sinistro usually do too.

So:

• il gomito destro = the right elbow
• la mano sinistra = the left hand
• il piede destro = the right foot

This is the normal order. An English speaker may expect right elbow, but Italian generally prefers elbow right.

Yes. That is completely correct.

These are both natural:

• Mi fa male il gomito destro
• Il gomito destro mi fa male

The difference is mainly one of focus and rhythm:

• Mi fa male il gomito destro sounds very natural when introducing the problem
• Il gomito destro mi fa male puts more emphasis on the right elbow

Italian word order is more flexible than English, as long as the sentence remains clear.

Because the subject is singular:

• il gomito = singular
• so the verb is fa

Compare:

• Mi fa male il gomito = My elbow hurts
• Mi fanno male i gomiti = My elbows hurt

Same pattern:

• singular body part → fa male
• plural body part → fanno male

Examples:

• Mi fa male la spalla = My shoulder hurts
• Mi fanno male le spalle = My shoulders hurt

Here male is not an adjective agreeing with the noun. It is part of the expression fare male.

So you should learn fare male as a fixed phrase meaning:

• to hurt
• to cause pain

That is why you do not change male to match the noun:

• Mi fa male il gomito
• Mi fanno male le ginocchia

It stays male in both cases.

It means after the gym or after going to the gym / after my workout at the gym, depending on context.

Breakdown:

• dopo = after
• la palestra = the gym

In everyday Italian, la palestra can refer not only to the place itself but also to the activity associated with it, so dopo la palestra often means:

• after gym
• after the workout
• after being at the gym

Because in Italian, articles are used more often than in English.

English often says:

• after gym

But Italian normally says:

• dopo la palestra

The article is part of the natural expression. Italian generally prefers:

• vado in palestra = I go to the gym
• dopo la palestra = after the gym
• sono in palestra = I’m at the gym

Yes. Italian allows some flexibility.

All of these are possible:

• Mi fa male il gomito destro dopo la palestra
• Dopo la palestra, mi fa male il gomito destro
• Mi fa male, dopo la palestra, il gomito destro
  this one is less neutral and more marked

The most natural choices are usually:

• Mi fa male il gomito destro dopo la palestra
• Dopo la palestra, mi fa male il gomito destro

If you want to emphasize that the pain happens after working out, putting dopo la palestra first is very common.

Not in standard Italian. English speakers often want to translate I have pain in my elbow, but Italian usually does not say ho male in this way.

The normal pattern is:

• Mi fa male il gomito destro or
• Ho dolore al gomito destro = I have pain in my right elbow

So:

• mi fa male... = the most natural everyday way
• ho dolore... = also correct, a bit more explicit or formal

Because there are two common patterns, and this sentence uses one of them.

Pattern 1:

• Mi fa male il gomito = My elbow hurts

Pattern 2:

• Ho male al gomito this is regional or nonstandard in many contexts, so learners should be careful
• Ho dolore al gomito = I have pain in my elbow

With fare male, the body part often appears directly as the subject:

• Mi fa male il gomito not
• Mi fa male al gomito

So in standard learner Italian, use:

• Mi fa male il gomito destro

It is neutral, natural everyday Italian. You can say it in normal conversation without sounding too formal or too casual.

It works well in situations like:

• talking to a friend
• explaining a problem to a trainer
• speaking to a doctor

If speaking to a doctor, you might also hear or use slightly more specific versions:

• Mi fa male il gomito destro dopo l’allenamento
• Ho dolore al gomito destro dopo la palestra

But the original sentence is perfectly normal.

You would usually change the noun to plural and the verb to fanno.

Examples:

• Mi fanno male i gomiti = My elbows hurt
• Mi fanno male le spalle dopo la palestra = My shoulders hurt after the gym
• Mi fanno male le ginocchia = My knees hurt

So remember:

• singular → fa male
• plural → fanno male

It can be used for both, but in slightly different ways.

For physical pain:

• Mi fa male il gomito = My elbow hurts

For emotional pain:

• Mi fa male quello che hai detto = What you said hurts me
• Mi fa male pensarci = It hurts me to think about it

So fare male is a broad expression meaning to hurt, whether physically or emotionally. In your sentence, because of il gomito destro, it is clearly physical pain.