Yoga for tennis elbow: ease the forearm without loading it

Your tennis elbow yoga plan

Mountain PoseTadasana BeginnerStanding Raised Arms PoseHasta Uttanasana BeginnerStanding Cow Face PoseGomukhasana IntermediateSeated Eagle PoseGarudasana IntermediateStanding Extended Puppy PoseAnahatasana BeginnerProne and kneeling Easy PoseSukhasana BeginnerSeated Gate PoseParighasana BeginnerSeated Corpse PoseSavasana BeginnerSupine

More poses that help with tennis elbow

Add these once the session above feels easy, or swap one in when a pose does not suit you.

Sphinx PoseSalamba Bhujangasana BeginnerProne and kneeling Child’s PoseBalasana BeginnerSeated Bridge PoseSetu Bandhasana BeginnerSupine Crocodile PoseMakarasana BeginnerProne and kneeling

Traditional practice: Used in classical yoga therapy; few clinical trials so far.

Yoga for tennis elbow helps in two ways: it keeps the shoulders, upper back and wrists moving while the elbow heals, and it teaches you to change the poses that often make tennis elbow worse. Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) is an overuse problem of the tendons that attach the forearm muscles to the outer elbow. The session above works the arms and shoulders with no weight on the hands and no tight gripping. On its own it will not heal the tendon: the forearm exercises further down this page do that job.

See a doctor for an elbow that is hot, red and swollen, numbness or tingling in the fingers, pain after a fall or a pop, an elbow you cannot straighten, or pain that has not improved after two weeks of rest and self-care.

What is tennis elbow?

Tennis elbow causes pain on the outer side of the elbow, often spreading into the forearm. It hurts most when you grip, lift a kettle, turn a door handle or type for long periods. Despite the name, most people who get it do not play tennis: any repeated gripping or wrist work can cause it, including gardening, DIY, computer work and, sometimes, yoga.

Golfer's elbow is the same problem on the inner side of the elbow. The same approach works for both, so the tennis and golf elbow exercises below also serve as exercises for inner elbow pain.

Tennis elbow time frame

According to the NHS, tennis elbow usually gets better with rest and self-care, but it can sometimes last more than a year. Tendons heal slowly, so plan for weeks to months, not days.

Can I do yoga with tennis elbow?

Yes, in most cases, if you change how you use your hands. Is yoga OK for tennis elbow? The gentle, arm-light poses in the session above are fine. What usually needs to change is weight-bearing on the hands (Plank, Chaturanga, Downward Dog, Crow) and gripping (holding your foot or clasping your hands hard). The evidence level here is "traditional": there are no trials of yoga for tennis elbow, but good evidence that stretching and strengthening exercises help.

• A 2014 systematic review of 12 studies found that treatment programmes including eccentric exercise (slowly lowering a weight with the wrist) reduced pain and improved function and grip strength.
• A 2013 review found moderate evidence that stretching plus strengthening worked better in the short term than ultrasound plus friction massage.

Yoga causing tennis elbow? It can happen. Long holds in Downward Dog or Plank with the weight in the heels of the hands, and gripping the mat with the fingers, load the same forearm tendons. If yoga for tennis elbow feels worse after class, this is usually why.

Yoga poses for tennis elbow: why each one is in the plan

These yoga asanas for tennis elbow were chosen for relief without load. Yoga therapy for tennis elbow is not a separate treatment; think of it as the upper-body part of your tennis elbow recovery, and use yoga for tennis elbow relief on days when the arm feels tight.

Mountain pose and Raised Arms: posture first

Rounded shoulders and a forward head change how the arm moves and make the forearm work harder. Mountain pose resets posture, and Raised Arms pose moves the shoulders fully with open, relaxed hands.

Cow Face arms: shoulder and triceps stretch

Cow Face pose stretches the shoulders and the back of the upper arm. With tennis elbow, do not clasp your fingers behind your back: hold a strap or towel loosely instead, so the forearm stays soft.

Eagle arms: upper back and gentle forearm twist

Eagle pose wraps the arms and stretches between the shoulder blades. Keep it gentle: cross the arms at the elbows and hold your opposite shoulders instead of twisting the forearms into the full wrap, if that pulls on the elbow.

Extended Puppy pose: shoulders without load

Extended Puppy pose opens the shoulders and upper back from hands and knees, with the hips high and the arms reaching forward. Keep the palms light on the mat, or rest on your forearms, so no real weight goes through the wrists.

Gate pose and Easy pose

Gate pose gives a long side stretch from the hip to the fingertips. Sitting in Easy pose with the hands resting palms up is where you breathe and let the forearms relax.

Savasana: switching off the grip

Many people with tennis elbow grip without knowing it, even at rest. In Savasana, let the fingers curl naturally and feel the forearms go heavy.

Tennis elbow exercises and stretches for the forearm

These are the physical therapy exercises for tennis elbow that most physiotherapists use, and they match the gentle arm exercises in the NHS advice. The yoga for tennis elbow treatment plan works best with them. Do them alongside the yoga, most days, in a way that causes no more than mild discomfort.

Wrist extensor stretch

Hold your arm out in front, palm down, elbow straight. With the other hand, gently bend the wrist down until you feel a stretch on the back of the forearm. Hold for about 30 seconds, and repeat a few times. This is also one of the best yoga stretches for elbow pain.

Eccentric wrist extension

Sit with your forearm resting on a table and the hand over the edge, palm down, holding a light weight or a water bottle. Use the other hand to lift the wrist up, then slowly lower it on its own over about three seconds. This slow lowering (eccentric exercise) is at the core of most tennis elbow rehab exercises. Build up gradually over several weeks.

Grip and twist

Squeeze a soft ball or rolled towel gently, and slowly turn the palm up and down holding a light hammer by the handle. These tennis elbow strengthening exercises rebuild grip once the stretch and eccentric work feel easy.

How to improve tennis elbow faster: keep the exercises regular, reduce the activity that caused it, and be patient. Tennis elbow treatment exercises work over weeks to months.

Yoga modifications for tennis elbow

If you go to a class, these yoga modifications for tennis elbow let you keep practising:

When you do bear weight on the hands again, spread the fingers wide and press through the knuckles and fingertips, not the heel of the hand. Yin yoga for tennis elbow is fine for the legs and hips, but avoid long holds leaning on the hands.

Tennis elbow exercises to avoid

These movements to avoid with tennis elbow load the sore tendon most, at least until it settles:

• Lifting with the palm facing down, such as carrying a full kettle or pan.
• Heavy or repeated gripping: wringing cloths, using a screwdriver, carrying bags in the fingers.
• Gym exercises for tennis elbow that stress it: heavy curls, pull-ups, rows with a tight grip.
• Long weight-bearing on the hands in yoga.

These restrictions for tennis elbow are temporary. How to work with tennis elbow? Lift with the palm facing up, use both hands, choose tools with thicker handles, and take breaks from the keyboard and mouse. A workout with tennis elbow is still possible: focus on legs, core and cardio while the forearm heals.

How to help tennis elbow at home

How to deal with tennis elbow day to day? The NHS advice on how to ease elbow pain includes resting the arm, avoiding activities that make it worse, hot or cold packs, pain relief such as paracetamol or anti-inflammatory gel, gentle arm exercises and a forearm strap or brace. If you wear a brace, you can keep it on for yoga, but it is not a reason to push through pain. The same advice applies to yoga for tennis elbow for women and men, whether the cause is desk work, sport or lifting a baby.

Is massage good for tennis elbow? Massage for elbow pain can relieve muscle tension for a while, and physiotherapists sometimes use it, but exercise is the main treatment. The NHS notes that physio for tennis elbow may help after about 6 weeks of home care. If tennis elbow is not improving after several months, a doctor can discuss other options, and surgery is rare.

How to prevent tennis elbow

How to avoid tennis elbow in future: build up new activities slowly, keep forearms strong with the exercises above, check your grip on tools and racquets, and set up your desk so the wrist stays straight. In yoga, press through the fingertips and knuckles in weight-bearing poses.

Breathing and mudras

Pain makes people tense their shoulders and hands. A few minutes of Ujjayi breathing in Easy pose helps you notice and release that grip. People sometimes ask for a yoga mudra for tennis elbow: there is no mudra with evidence for it, and tight finger positions held for a long time are best avoided while the forearm is sore.

Practise with the 3D guide

Start the session at the top of this page: the 3D teacher shows every pose, you can rotate her to check your arm position, and the voice guides you in 28 languages. For shoulder problems that come with elbow pain, see yoga for shoulder pain, and log your sessions in your practice tracker.

Research behind this plan

1. Cullinane 2014, Clinical Rehabilitation — systematic review of 12 studies: treatment programmes including eccentric exercise reduced pain and improved function and grip strength in lateral epicondylitis
2. Hoogvliet 2013, British Journal of Sports Medicine — systematic review: moderate evidence that stretching plus strengthening beats ultrasound plus friction massage in the short term for tennis elbow
3. NHS — Tennis elbow: rest, pain relief, gentle exercises, a forearm strap, when to see a GP, and physiotherapy

Medical note: yoga supports treatment; it does not replace it. Keep taking prescribed medicine and talk to your doctor before you start, especially with heart disease, uncontrolled blood pressure, recent surgery, pregnancy, epilepsy or severe pain. Read our medical disclaimer.