Exercises for Golf Elbow

The golf swing involves a lot of twisting and turning, and all that torque can put a let of stress on your joints. Tendinitis of the elbow is one of the most common injuries of all of sport. It is informally known by (whatever sport you are playing) + elbow; such as golf elbow, tennis elbow, etc. The best way to solve golf elbow is a combination of rest, stretching and exercising, compression and icing.

  1. Stretches

    • The most effective stretches for golf elbow are forearm flexors and forearm extensors. They are based around the same type of movement. For both stretches you will extend the arm that is bothering you straight in front of your body, horizontal to the ground.

      When doing a flexor, hold your arm so that your palm is facing up. Using your other arm, slowly bend the hand on the target arm down to the floor until you start to feel a strain in your elbow. Hold for 20 or 30 seconds.

      An extensor is essentially the same stretch, except that you begin with your palm facing down. Like a flexor, slowly bend your hand towards the floor, and hold for 20 to 30 seconds. Do these stretches two or three times a day when you first start feeling symptoms, and more frequently as it becomes more comfortable.

    Finger exercises

    • A few days after you begin feeling symptoms, you can start exercising the tendon to help alleviate symptoms and prevent atrophy. The first exercises you should do will revolve around your fingers.

      First, bring your fingers together into a point above your palm. Wrap a rubber band tightly around them. Extend your fingers out, stretching the rubber band as far as you can without allowing it to slide down to your wrist.

      Secondly, squeeze a stress ball. If you don't own a stress ball, ball up a sleeve of a long sleeve shirt until it is firm, and squeeze that.

      For both exercises, do three sets of 10 repetitions twice a day.

    Weights

    • As you begin to feel more comfortable with the minimally intensive exercises, you can start exercising with free weights. Start with one-pound dumbbells and increase the weight as soon as you feel you are not being challenged. Rest your forearm on a flat surface, while allowing your hand to hang off the side. The corner of a table is perfect.

      The first exercise is called wrist flexion. Lay your arm on the table so that your palm is facing up and grab the dumbbell. Bend your wrist to lower it down towards the floor; the motion should look similar to the stretches you have been doing. Hold it at the bottom for a second, then slowly bring it back up.

      The second exercise is called wrist extension. It mirrors wrist flexion much like the two stretches mirror each other. Lay your arm on the table with your palm facing down. Grab the dumbbell and hold it like you would a shopping bag. Then, lower it down to the floor, pause, and slowly bring it back up.

      For both exercises, do three sets of 10 repetitions twice a day.