Forearm self massage means working the muscles on the palm side of your forearm with your other hand. You sit with a pillow on your lap, rest the elbow of the arm you are treating on it, and use the fingers or thumb of your other hand to knead in small circles from the wrist up toward the elbow. Physios sometimes teach it to people with carpal tunnel syndrome, or to anyone whose forearm feels tight after a lot of gripping.

How to do the forearm self massage

Sit upright on a chair with your feet flat on the floor and a pillow across your lap.
Rest the elbow of the arm you are treating on the pillow and let the forearm stand upright, palm turned toward you, as in the video. The voice guide describes laying the arm forward along the pillow instead, and that works too.
With the fingers or thumb of your other hand, press gently into the muscles on the palm side of the forearm, a little above the wrist.
Work up toward the elbow in small circles or with a slow kneading movement, then go back to the wrist and cover the forearm again.
After 1 to 2 minutes, lower the arm and shake it out loosely.

What you should feel

Firm, comfortable pressure and perhaps some tenderness in the forearm muscles, easing as you go. It should never bring on tingling in the hand.

Common mistakes

Digging in hard at the wrist crease on the palm side, where the nerve to the hand (the median nerve) lies close to the surface.
Pressing so hard that the muscles tense up or you are left with bruises.
Rubbing quickly over the skin instead of moving the muscle underneath it.
Hunching over the arm so your neck and shoulders tire.

How often

Many people massage for 1 to 2 minutes at a time, once or a few times a day. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

Your forearm, hand or upper arm becomes swollen, warm, tender, red or darker than usual, has swollen veins that are sore to touch, or has a throbbing or cramping pain that feels different from normal muscle ache. Do not massage it. Stop and get medical advice the same day, as this can be a blood clot. If you are also short of breath or have chest pain, call emergency services.
Tingling, pins and needles or numbness in your hand, most often in the ring and little fingers (from the nerve behind the elbow, the ulnar nerve) or in the thumb, index and middle fingers (the median nerve).
Pins and needles in your arm or hand that do not go away after you stop, or part of your arm or hand goes numb. Get medical advice the same day. If one side of your face or body suddenly goes numb or weak, or your speech becomes slurred or muddled, call emergency services, even if it goes away.
Sharp pain, new bruising, or a forearm that is sorer the next day.

From the clinic

Skip the massage over a wound, a scar that has not fully healed, a rash, or skin that is broken or infected, and leave alone any area that is red, hot and swollen. Never massage an arm that may have a blood clot; follow the clot sign in the stop list above instead. Check with your doctor or physio first if you take blood-thinning medicine or bruise easily, if you have had a blood clot in your arm before, or if you have lymphedema or have had lymph nodes removed from your armpit.

After a broken wrist, hand or forearm, or surgery on any of them such as a tendon repair, start only when your doctor, surgeon, physio or hand therapist says the bone or repair is ready for this, and follow their plan for how much to do. Keep the pressure light near the wrist, and if your fingers start to tingle, ease off, because you may be pressing on the nerve. The same muscles join a shared tendon at the inner elbow, the sore spot in golfer's elbow, so go lightly there too.

Some people find that massage eases a tight forearm for a while, but it does not replace the night splint and the other steps in the carpal tunnel syndrome program. To stretch the same muscles, see the wrist flexor stretch.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-28.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Forearm self massage