Elbow
What exercise helps tennis elbow, with the wrist first
Start with the wrist and forearm, not with a harder grip. This practice is a seated warm-up, then light strengthening: a slow lowering of the wrist, a flexion hold, and a slow turn of the forearm.
This isn’t a workout to push through. It watches how your body responds and adjusts as it goes.
Before you start
Stop if pain is sharp at the outside of the elbow or travels down the forearm. Get the elbow checked if it is hot and swollen, the pain followed a fall, or there is weakness rather than only pain. Stop and speak to a clinician if a movement brings on sharp pain, dizziness, or symptoms that travel down an arm or a leg, and seek urgent care for any loss of bladder or bowel control or numbness around the saddle area.
This is the version everyone gets. Yours is different.
Start your first sessionThe short answer
The sequence on this page is light wrist and forearm strengthening. A seated warm-up moves the arm first, then a slow lowering of the wrist, a flexion hold, and a slow turn of the forearm.
The NHS tennis elbow page says to try simple exercises such as bending and straightening the arm, and that physiotherapy may help if home measures have not. The physiotherapy it lists includes stretching and strengthening exercises for the wrist and forearm.
Hoogvliet and colleagues pooled a review and 12 trials, all in lateral epicondylitis, the tendon pattern tennis elbow usually names. They found moderate evidence that stretching plus strengthening was better in the short term than ultrasound plus friction massage. They also say the wider belief that strength training decreases symptoms is not yet conclusive.
Strengthening, and what it does not settle
A second review, of low-bias trials, found that a home programme of wrist extensor strengthening led to greater short-term pain reduction than waiting. The same review says the relative effectiveness of stretching versus strengthening for the wrist extensors remains unknown. This sequence is the strengthening: a light, slow lowering of the wrist, a flexion hold, and a slow turn of the forearm.
The useful move is a slow lowering of the wrist, the eccentric half, with a light load. A hard squeeze, a vibrating tool, or a long mouse grip is the sort of task the sore tendon is already doing all day. Those stay out of the practice.
Where this sequence starts
A seated warm-up moves the wrist before it is loaded. The eccentric lowering comes next, then a flexion hold and a slow turn of the forearm. Skip a move that is sharply painful. This page cannot tell you whether the pain is tennis elbow.
The sequence
- 1
Seated upper body warm-up · 60 seconds
Moves the wrist, forearm and shoulder in a chair before any load, so the strengthening starts from a moving arm.
- 2
Slow wrist lowering · 8 to 10 slow repetitions
The lowering half of a wrist lift, kept light. This is the strengthening the reviews are talking about.
- 3
Wrist flexion hold · 8 to 10 slow repetitions
The other side of the forearm, so the practice is not only the sore extensors.
- 4
Slow forearm turns · 8 to 10 turns each way
Turns the forearm through a comfortable range. Stop if the outside of the elbow bites.
- 5
Seated cat cow · 45 to 60 seconds
A break for the arm. The elbow is not asked to grip or lift.
- 6
Supported fold over a chair · 30 to 60 seconds
Lets the arm hang while the back rests. A place to finish without another grip.
Keep the load light enough that the elbow can still straighten afterwards. Skip anything sharply painful at the outside of the elbow. A grip that makes the pain travel down the forearm comes out.
That sequence was written for everyone with this. Yours would be built around your answers.
Start your first sessionWhat the research says
The NHS tennis elbow page suggests simple exercises such as bending and straightening the arm, and says physiotherapy may help if symptoms have not improved with treatments tried at home. It lists stretching and strengthening exercises for the wrist and forearm among physiotherapy treatments.
Hoogvliet et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine (2013), included one review and 12 randomised trials, all studying lateral epicondylitis. Moderate evidence supported stretching plus strengthening exercises versus ultrasound plus friction massage in the short term. The authors write that the results, although not yet conclusive, support the belief that strength training decreases symptoms in tendinosis.
Menta et al., Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (2015), reviewed exercise for elbow, forearm, wrist and hand disorders. For persistent lateral epicondylitis, home wrist extensor strengthening led to greater short-term improvements in pain reduction compared with wait and see. The review states that the relative effectiveness of stretching versus strengthening for the wrist extensors remains unknown.
Sources
- 1NHS, tennis elbow
Suggests simple exercises such as bending and straightening the arm, and says physiotherapy may help if symptoms have not improved with home measures. Physiotherapy treatments listed include stretching and strengthening exercises for the wrist and forearm.
- 2Hoogvliet et al., exercise therapy and mobilisation for lateral and medial epicondylitis, systematic review (British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2013)
Across one review and 12 trials, all in lateral epicondylitis, moderate evidence supported stretching plus strengthening exercises over ultrasound plus friction massage in the short term. The authors call the wider case for strength training suggestive rather than conclusive.
- 3Menta et al., exercise for musculoskeletal disorders of the elbow, forearm, wrist and hand, systematic review (Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 2015)
For persistent lateral epicondylitis, home wrist extensor strengthening led to greater short-term pain reduction than wait and see. The review says the relative effectiveness of stretching versus strengthening for the wrist extensors remains unknown.
Common questions
What exercise helps tennis elbow?
Light wrist and forearm strengthening. The sequence is a seated warm-up, a slow lowering of the wrist, a flexion hold, and a slow turn of the forearm. The NHS lists bending and straightening the arm, and stretching and strengthening of the wrist and forearm if physiotherapy is used. A review found moderate short-term evidence for stretching plus strengthening compared with ultrasound and massage, and says that finding is not conclusive.
Is stretching or strengthening better for tennis elbow?
A 2015 review says that comparison is still unknown for the wrist extensors. The same review found home wrist extensor strengthening reduced pain more in the short term than waiting. This sequence is that strengthening, kept light: a slow lowering, a flexion hold, and a slow turn of the forearm.
Should I rest the arm completely?
The NHS suggests exercises, not a frozen arm. Avoid the hard grips and repeated twists that stir the tendon. A warm-up and a slow lowering are still movement.
What should I skip with tennis elbow?
A heavy squeeze, a long tight grip, and any move that is sharply painful on the outside of the elbow. Pain that travels down the forearm is a reason to stop that move.
When should elbow pain be checked?
If the elbow is hot and swollen, the pain followed a fall or a sudden tear, the arm is weak rather than only sore, or home measures have not helped and you want it looked at. This page cannot name the cause.
This is the version everyone gets. Yours is different.
Start your first sessionAlso called what exercise to help tennis elbow, tennis elbow exercises, exercises for tennis elbow, wrist exercises for tennis elbow, lateral epicondylitis exercises, how to ease tennis elbow. Movements are drawn from the clinically authored Vinys library. This page is general movement information, not medical advice, and it is not a diagnosis. How the method works.