You don’t need to be regularly teeing off to deal with golfer’s elbow. If you’re someone who lifts, swims, climbs, or even types for hours a day, tight forearms and nagging inner elbow pain might be all too familiar. The good news? There’s a super simple stretch for golfer’s elbow that can make a big difference.
Let’s break down what’s really going on and how to loosen up that cranky elbow.
What Is Golfer’s Elbow?
Golfer’s elbow—aka medial epicondylitis—is inflammation or irritation where your forearm flexor tendons attach to the inside of your elbow (the medial epicondyle). These tendons are where the muscles that help you grip, curl your wrist, and flex your fingers attach. When those muscles are overworked or tight, all that tension pulls at the tendon, often resulting in pain. This isn’t just a golfer’s problem. We see it in swimmers, tennis players, weightlifters, climbers, and weekend warriors.
You might feel this as pain in the elbow. It can also present as stiffness through the forearm and even into the hand. That’s why a good stretch for golfer’s elbow doesn’t just target the elbow—it hits the whole line of tissue.
A Simple Stretch for Golfer’s Elbow
If your forearms are tight and your elbow’s cranky, it’s time to show that flexor group some love. This stretch for golfer’s elbow opens up the entire chain from palm to elbow and helps reduce that chronic tension. Think about a rope attaching to your elbow and it goes all the way through your finger tips. We want to stretch that rope from both ends.
How to Do It:
- Extend your arm straight, palm facing away from you.
- Straighten your fingers and place your flat palm down on a table or box, with your fingers pointing in towards you
- Keep your elbow straight and palm flat on the table to feel the stretch through your forearm.
- To deepen it, slowly lean your body backward, keeping that palm flat on the surface.
Tips for Best Results:
With every stretch there are 2 ways to do it! Dynamic stretching is best before a work out or activity to help get your body ready. Static stretching on the other hand should be done post activity or workout.
Dynamic Stretch:
- Move in and out of leaning backwards and relieving the pressure doing 5 second holds
- Repeat 10 reps per arm
- Do this 2 – 3 times per arm PRE-workout or activity
Static Stretch:
- Hold for 30–60 seconds
- Repeat 2–3 times per arm
- Add it to your POST-workout or daily recovery routine
Watch our How To Stretch for Golfer’s Elbow
Keep your elbows pain-free and your grip strong by stretching your forearms. The stretch for golfer’s elbow is a simple but powerful tool to reduce tightness, restore mobility, grip strength, and prevent injury. Incorporate this into your warm and cool down routines to feel a lasting change!
Stop Slicing + Longer Drives
A golf swing relies on smooth, powerful movements throughout your body. But if your back feels like a rock, your hips won’t budge, and your shoulders creak like an old door, forget about accuracy or distance. This is where mobility comes in. Let’s get a deeper understanding of why this is happening, and then go over how to stop slicing the golf ball!
Still Dealing with Elbow Pain? Your Shoulder Might Be to Blame.
Here’s something most people miss: elbow pain isn’t always about the elbow.
In fact, limited shoulder mobility can put extra stress on your elbow, especially if you’re lifting, throwing, or doing repetitive upper body movements. Over time, that added strain can turn into nagging pain or even injury.
But there’s good news—you don’t need to spend hundreds on appointments or guess your way through random YouTube stretches.
MDRx Shoulder is our affordable, fast, expert-built program designed to improve your shoulder mobility—so your elbow (and the rest of your body) can finally move the way it’s supposed to.
Built from years of clinical experience and hundreds of shoulder evaluations, MDRx Shoulder helps you:
Increase shoulder range of motion
Reduce compensations that lead to elbow and wrist pain
Move better in just 15 minutes a day
It’s like DIY rehab, but smarter.
