Closeup of a woman touching her elbow.

 

Golfer’s Elbow Exercises

Body Part:
Arm

Equipment:
Mini & Maxi Foam Rollers

Level:
Beginner

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Roland Liebscher-Bracht

Germany’s trusted pain specialist

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Roland & Petra

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Over 30 years of research and hands-on experience make the Liebscher & Bracht pain therapy what it is today: an outstanding approach to naturally treating pain conditions. Making use of the mechanics of the body, it offers people the chance to free themselves of their discomfort by using unique and incredibly useful techniques. All this happens without having to rely on medication or operations.

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Golfer’s Elbow Exercises

Something is off. You don’t have an Olympic Gold medal for winning a sudden-death playoff, the backswing of Tiger Woods, or even a set of irons in the garage. So why does your elbow hurt like a golf champ’s, and why do you feel shooting pain through your forearm? Because golfer’s elbow can take a swing at any of us. It’s estimated that the condition impacts 3.8% to 8.2% of work-related complaints. 1) We’ve developed golfer’s elbow exercises that can help relieve the pain in your arm and get you out of the bunkers. All you need for our exercises are our Mini Foam Roller and Maxi Foam Roller. If you want to start exercising, jump to our video. Keep reading if you’d like to learn more about the golfer’s elbow.

Get a Grip on Elbow Anatomy

Our elbows are made up of three bones: the humerus (the upper arm) and the ulna and radius (the lower arm). On each side of our elbows is a knobby bone called the epicondyle. The tendons running from your fingers through your forearm connect at the epicondyles. The lateral epicondyle is on the outside of your elbow, and the medial epicondyle is on the inside. Golfer’s elbow develops around the medial epicondyle. (Tennis elbow, sometimes confused with golfer’s elbow, develops around the lateral epicondyle.)

What is Golfer’s Elbow?

Golfer’s elbow, a.k.a medial epicondylitis, is an inflammation of the tendons in your forearm. The condition is an overuse injury; if you regularly engage in an activity that requires you to repeatedly and forcefully flex your forearm and bend your wrist, you can damage the tendons and develop medial epicondylitis. 

In most cases, golfer’s elbow affects the arm you use most. (Right-handed people develop it in their right forearm, left-handers in the left.)

Sports that commonly cause medial epicondylitis are golf, tennis, softball, baseball, javelin throwing, rowing, and weight training. You may be at risk of developing golfer’s elbow if you frequently type, rake, or use screwdrivers or hammers. 

Symptoms of golfer’s elbow are:

  • the inside of your elbow is red, swollen, or warm to the touch,
  • your elbow feels stiff,
  • pain that travels from your elbow to your wrist,
  • pain when you grip an object,
  • you have difficulty making a fist,
  • pain that gets worse with daily activities. 2)

You may find yourself flexing your elbow to relieve pain.

Part i: Foam Roll Massages

A woman is foam rolling her forearm against a wall while Roland Liebscher-Bracht looks on.

Exercise 1: Forearm Massage

    For this exercise, you’ll need our Mini Foam Roller. This foam roll massage can be performed against a wall or table.

    • Face a wall. 
    • Bend the affected forearm so that your palm is facing the wall.
    • Place the Mini Foam Roller under your wrist.
    • Push your forearm against the roller and slowly roll toward your elbow.
    • Apply as much pressure to the roller as you can. 

    Adjusting the height of the foam roller can make increasing the pressure easier.

    • Roll slowly for about 2 minutes.
    • When you reach your elbow, you’re finished.

    Repeat on the other side of your forearm by assuming the same starting position but with the back of your hand facing the wall. To intensify the rolling pressure, adjust the position of your upper body.

    A woman is foam rolling the outside of her elbow against a wall.
    A woman is foam rolling the inside of her elbow against a wall.

    Exercise 2: Upper Arm Massage

    For this massage, you’ll need our Maxi Foam Roller.

    • Stand sideways next to a wall.
    • Slowly raise your affected arm until it’s horizontal. Turn your arm so that your palm faces the floor.
    • Place the Maxi Foam Roller between your elbow and the wall. (The bone of your arm should be in the groove of the roller.)
    • Apply pressure and roll slowly toward your shoulder for 2 minutes.
    • Finish.

    To repeat on the other side of your arm:

    • Face the wall. 
    • Raise the affected arm until it’s horizontal. Turn your arm so your palm faces the wall.
    • Place the foam roller on the inside of your elbow.
    • Apply pressure and roll slowly toward your shoulder for 2 minutes.
    • When you’ve reached your shoulder, you’re finished.

    Part II: Stretches

    A woman is on her hands and knees stretching her wrist.

    Exercise 3: Wrist Extension Stretch

    • Stand on your knees.
    • Extend the affected arm in front of you and rotate it all the way outward.
    • Slowly bend your hand back and place it on the floor with your fingers pointing towards your knees. (Place your other hand on the floor for support.)
    • Bring your body weight over your wrist.
    • Slowly walk your knees backwards. Gently pull your arm back until you feel a stretch at your wrist. 
    • On each exhale, move back slightly, increasing the intensity of the stretch.
    • Hold for 2 minutes.
    • Finish.
    A woman is on her hands and knees screwing her fist into the floor.

    Exercise 4: Wrist Flexion Stretch

    • Sit back on your ankles and make a fist with your affected hand.
    • Rotate your fist inwards and place it on the floor so your thumb faces your knee.
    • Clasp your fist tightly with your free hand. You want to make sure it keeps it from opening.
    • Apply pressure by shifting your upper body weight over your wrist.
    • Press and turn your fist as if you were screwing it into the floor. You’ll feel a stretch along your forearm muscles (wrist flexor muscles).
    • Increase the intensity of the stretch by shifting your weight onto your knees. 
    • Hold for at least 2 minutes.
    • Slowly sit back on your ankles and finish.
    A woman is lying on the floor with her left arm horizontal.

    Exercise 5: Arm Stretch

    • Lay on your stomach and extend the affected arm until it’s at a 45° angle to your shoulder.
    • Place your other hand on the floor as if you were going to do a push-up.
    • Press the shoulder of your affected arm into the floor by rolling onto your side slightly.
    • Stabilize yourself by sliding your outer leg up until your thigh is perpendicular. 
    • You should feel a stretch in your elbow, shoulder, and upper arm.
    • On each exhale, increase the intensity of the stretch by turning your upper body and pressing your affected arm into the floor.
    • Hold for about 2 minutes.
    • Finish.
    A woman is lying on her stomach. She is pressing her left hand into her shouldre blade.

    Exercise 6: Forearm Press

    • Lay on your stomach.
    • Reach straight up with the affected arm. Bend it back and touch the corresponding shoulder.
    • Press your forearm into your shoulder with the opposite hand until you feel a stretch.

    Don’t feel a stretch? Place the Mini Foam Roller under the elbow of your affected arm.

    • Explore how you can intensify the stretch by moving your upper body or hips from side to side.
    • Hold for 2 minutes.
    • Slowly leave the stretch.

    Keep Score.

    Perform our golfer’s elbow exercises for an initial sprint of 6 days a week for 3 weeks. When you notice that your elbow pain is subsiding, you can adjust the frequency of your exercises. May the fores be with you.

    Our tip: If you do muscle-strengthening exercises with weights, add a set of wrist curls to your routine.

    Sources & Studies

    • ↑1 Terlezky, S., Amster Kahn, H., Saleh, S., Gannot, G., & Oron, A. (2022). Harefuah, 161(8), 515–519.
    • ↑2 Amin, N. H., Kumar, N. S., & Schickendantz, M. S. (2015). Medial epicondylitis: evaluation and management. The Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 23(6), 348–355. https://doi.org/10.5435/JAAOS-D-14-00145.

    Get More Exercises For Elbow Pain

    Download our FREE PDF guide with 6 exercises you can do at home.

    Liebscher & Bracht PDF Guide and Exercises about Elbow Pain.

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