Elbow Rehabilitation

Elbow rehabilitation is a treatment method designed to facilitate recovery after an elbow injury or surgery.

The elbow is considered one of the most mobile joints in the body. However, a fall, accident, trauma or disease condition can cause symptoms such as pain, weakness, numbness, instability, and limit your overall elbow function.

A well-structured elbow rehabilitation program consists of stretching, strengthening, and stability exercises to help you get back to your daily activities and sports, and enjoy a more active and healthier lifestyle.

Elbow rehabilitation programs provide a wide range of exercises that are designed to be safe and effective for your elbow condition and are performed under the supervision of your doctor or physical therapist. These programs include exercises to improve elbow strength, flexibility, and range of motion. Rehabilitation programs usually last for approximately 4 to 6 weeks but some cases may require longer.

Indications

The two most common conditions that warrant elbow rehabilitation are tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) and golfer’s elbow (medial epicondylitis). These are both painful conditions caused by overuse that affect use of your elbow. Your doctor may recommend elbow rehabilitation in the following scenarios:

• Your symptoms have lasted for more than 6 months.
• You have significant loss of function and weakness in your elbow.
• You are an athlete and wish to return to sports soon.
• Your elbow injury or trauma has not responded to other non-surgical treatments.

Elbow Rehabilitation Exercises

Elbow rehabilitation exercises play a crucial role in restoring normal elbow function and improving flexibility and strength by specifically targeting the elbow muscles. Some of these exercises are described below.

Fist Clench/Stress Ball Squeeze:

• Rest your forearm on a table while sitting.
• Hold a small squeeze ball or a towel in your hand.
• Squeeze the ball or towel in the hand and hold for about 10 seconds.
• Release and repeat the action 10 times.

Finger Stretch:

• Bring your fingers together and place a rubber band around them.
• Slowly stretch your fingers apart and hold for a few seconds.
• Then bring the fingers back to their original position.
• Repeat this action for about 25 times. You can add an additional rubber band to make the stretching action difficult if you find the stretching too easy.

Wrist Extension:

• Sit on a chair or a flat bench with your elbow resting on your knee and palm facing downwards.
• Firmly hold a 2-pound dumbbell in your hand keeping your palm face down.
• Now extend you wrist by curling it towards your body and repeat for about 10 times.
• Make sure to keep the rest of the arm unmoved while isolating the motion to the wrist.

Wrist Flexion:

• Sit on a chair with your elbow resting on your knee and palm in a face-up posture.
• Firmly hold a 2-pound dumbbell in your hand and bend your wrist upwards by curling it towards your body.
• Return back to your starting position and repeat the same action 10 times.
• Make sure to keep the rest of the arm still while isolating the motion to the wrist.

Towel Twist:

• Sit on a chair with your shoulders relaxed and a towel held in both hands.
• Now use both of your hands to twist the towel in opposite directions as if you are wringing out water.
• Repeat the action 10 times and then do the same action in the other direction for 10 more times.

Dumbbell Supination:

• Sit on a chair and rest your elbow on your knee holding a 2-pound dumbbell vertically in your hand.
• Now use the weight of the dumbbell to help turn the palm upward and rotate the arm outward.
• Turn the hand back in the other direction and bring your palm into the original position facing downward.
• Repeat these actions 20 times.
• Make sure to keep your elbow and arm still while isolating the motion to the lower arm.

Wrist Extensor Stretch:

• Raise your arm straight out in front of your body and bend your wrist backward as if signaling to stop.
• Now use the opposite hand to pull the palm towards your body until you feel a gentle stretch on the inside of your forearm.
• Hold this stretch position for 15 seconds and release the wrist to its original position.
• Repeat this action 5 times.

Wrist Flexion Stretch:

• Raise your arm straight out in front of your body and bend your wrist downward so that your palm and fingers are pointing down.
• Now use the opposite hand to gently pull the palm towards your body until you feel a stretch on the outside of your forearm.
• Hold the stretch for about 15 seconds and repeat for 5 times.

Summary

The goal of an elbow rehabilitation program is to assist the patient in achieving a quick recovery and return to normal life. The rehabilitation team works with the patient on various strengthening and flexibility exercises to strengthen the elbow muscles, relieve pain, improve mobility, and restore normal functional capability of the elbow to help you return to daily routines, as well as sports and other recreational activities.