The supinator stretch lengthens the small forearm muscle that turns your palm to face up (supinator), which runs from the outer side of the elbow to the upper part of the forearm bone on the thumb side. Standing with your elbow bent and tucked in at your side, you rotate the forearm until the palm faces the floor, then your other hand adds a small extra turn in that direction. Physios use it when the forearm has lost some of its palm-down turn, which can happen after a fracture near the wrist or elbow or a spell in a cast.

How to do the forearm supinator stretch

Stand tall with your arms relaxed.
Bring the forearm of the side you want to stretch up in front of you, elbow bent to about 90 degrees and tucked in against your side, so the forearm lies across the front of your waist.
Rotate the forearm until the palm faces the floor and will not turn any further by itself.
Wrap your other hand around the forearm just above the wrist and add a small, slow extra turn in the same direction, so the thumb side of the hand dips toward the floor, until you feel a stretch.
Hold the stretch while you breathe easily, then let go slowly and relax the arm.

What you should feel

A gentle pull on the outer side of the forearm near the elbow, or across the back of the forearm. It should feel like a stretch and never a sharp pain.

Common mistakes

Letting the elbow wander out sideways, which lets the shoulder roll in and fake the turn.
Twisting the hand or bending the wrist instead of turning the whole forearm. Hold above the wrist, not on the hand.
Cranking hard at the end, or bouncing.

How often

A common range is 2 to 4 holds of 15 to 30 seconds, done 2 or 3 times a day. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

Sharp pain at the elbow or wrist instead of a stretching feeling.
Pain or clicking at the wrist on its little-finger edge as the forearm turns.
Tingling, pins and needles or numbness anywhere in your forearm, hand or fingers.
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.
Since the fracture or cast, the hand is getting more painful rather than less, the skin becomes very sensitive to light touch, or the hand changes color, temperature, swelling or sweating compared with the other one, or looks shiny. See your doctor or physio as soon as you can, within a few days at most, as this can be complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) and early treatment may help.

From the clinic

In the video the extra turn goes further toward palm down, with the thumb side of the hand dipping toward the floor. The voice guide says to turn the wrist upward, which could be read as turning back toward palm up. That would stretch the opposite muscles, which the pronator stretch covers, so the steps here follow the video. Keep the upper arm against your side throughout, because that stops the shoulder from rolling in and doing the work. Once the palm turns down more freely, forearm pronation with band builds strength in the same direction.

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. Start with a gentle turn after a fracture, since a bone that is still healing is not ready for a firm stretch.

After a broken or dislocated elbow, or elbow surgery such as a tendon repair, follow your surgeon's or physio's plan, and start this exercise only when they have cleared you. If you have just hurt your arm and have severe pain, cannot move the elbow or heard a snap, do not exercise it. Go to an urgent care center or emergency department the same day. If the arm looks a different shape or sits at an odd angle, a bone is showing, or your arm or hand tingles, feels numb or turns cold, pale or blue, go to an emergency department straight away or call emergency services, and do not drive yourself.

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 supinator stretch