Tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow

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Tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow

Golfer’s elbow: Strengthening and stretching exercises

Photo of a man holding his elbow

People who have golfer’s elbow can do special stretching and strengthening exercises to try to make the symptoms go away quicker. As shown in the following examples, the exercises are easy to do and fit into everyday life.

You can tell you have golfer’s elbow if the inside of your elbow hurts when you move your arm and it is difficult to grasp objects. It can take some time for the symptoms of golfer’s elbow to improve. In most cases, the symptoms of golfer’s elbow go away within one year without any special treatment. Stretching and strengthening exercises should relieve the symptoms and speed up the healing process. The aim of “eccentric” exercises is to strengthen the flexor muscles in the forearm. These are the muscles that are used when hitting a golf ball or rowing a boat, for instance. Regular stretching is also often recommended, although it’s not proven that it helps.

You can talk to your or doctor about which exercises are most suitable for you.

What are eccentric exercises?

Muscle-strengthening exercises can generally be divided up into concentric and eccentric exercises. In concentric exercises, the muscle contracts (tightens) – and in eccentric exercises, the muscle relaxes. One example of a concentric exercise is holding a weight in your hand and pulling it up towards your body. Gradually lowering the weight again is an eccentric exercise.

Eccentric exercises for golfer’s elbow

Eccentric exercises for the forearm strengthen the muscles that are used when hitting a golf ball, for instance.

Here is an example:

  1. Hold a weight in your hand (on the side of your body that is affected) and sit down.
  2. Rest your arm on your thigh, with your palm facing upwards. Your elbow should be bent and your wrist stretched.
  3. Gradually lower the hand with the weight in it.
  4. Use your free hand to help move the weight back to its original position.
  5. Repeat about 10 to 15 times.
  6. After a short break, repeat this set of exercises two more times.

The animated illustration shows an eccentric exercise for golfer’s elbow in which the arm is slowly lowered with a dumbbell.

It is important not to use heavy weights. The weight should be about 30% of the maximum weight you can hold. Slight pain is okay, but you shouldn’t put too much strain on the arm.

Stretching exercises for golfer’s elbow

The aim of stretching exercises is to stretch the wrist flexor muscles in the forearm. These exercises are recommended in order to improve the mobility (range of movement) of the arm and wrist. They can either be done actively or passively. By “actively,” we mean you do them yourself. In passive exercises, a or training partner stretches that part of the body for you.

Here is an example of an active stretching exercise:

  1. Stretch the affected arm out in front of you, with your palm facing upwards.
  2. Relax your wrist, allowing your hand to rest and fall back.
  3. Using your other hand, pull the affected hand back and towards your body.
  4. Hold the stretch for about 30 to 45 seconds.
  5. Repeat this exercise three times.

People are advised to do these stretching exercises about twice a day.

This illustration shows a stretching exercise for a golfer's elbow. It stretches the wrist flexor muscles in the forearm.

Amin NH, Kumar NS, Schickendantz MS. Medial epicondylitis: evaluation and management. J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2015; 23(6): 348-355.

Karanasios S, Korakakis V, Whiteley R et al. Exercise interventions in lateral elbow tendinopathy have better outcomes than passive interventions, but the effects are small: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 2123 subjects in 30 trials. Br J Sports Med 2021; 55(9): 477-485.

IQWiG health information is written with the aim of helping people understand the advantages and disadvantages of the main treatment options and health care services.

Because IQWiG is a German institute, some of the information provided here is specific to the German health care system. The suitability of any of the described options in an individual case can be determined by talking to a doctor. informedhealth.org can provide support for talks with doctors and other medical professionals, but cannot replace them. We do not offer individual consultations.

Our information is based on the results of good-quality studies. It is written by a team of health care professionals, scientists and editors, and reviewed by external experts. You can find a detailed description of how our health information is produced and updated in our methods.

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Golfer’s elbow: Strengthening and stretching exercises

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Created on December 18, 2025

Next planned update: 2028

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Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG, Germany)

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