Are you feeling pain in the elbow muscles and tendons? Following an injury, a surgery, or an elbow operation, elbow rehabilitation with exercises is necessary to ensure a full recovery. In addition, performing these exercises prevents the risk of recurrence.
Each year, hundreds of Quebecers seek help for an elbow sprain and rehabilitation. The people most at risk of developing a condition are assembly line workers, those who work at computers, and athletes. Repetitive movements are the number 1 enemy of the wrist, shoulder and elbow joints.
Why should you consult a specialist before choosing an exercise method?
Each patient and each injury is unique, which is why there is not a single model of elbow rehabilitation and exercises. To recover quickly, we strongly recommend consulting an elbow specialist. They will be able to guide you by giving you a list of exercises and treatments tailored to your condition.
In addition, although the rehabilitation is not painless, a new exercise should not bring you to tears. If a rehabilitation exercise causes severe pain or amplifies your symptoms, it is not the right exercise for you.
Finding the right exercises
Although it is relatively easy to find tennis elbow rehabilitation exercises, only a specialist will be able to steer you toward those that will help relieve your pain. Practicing inappropriate exercises can make your symptoms worse.
In addition, there are different types of elbow injuries. The intervention for elbow tendinitis (tennis elbow, golf elbow) differs greatly from the treatment for a distal biceps tendon tear at the elbow and the treatment for elbow osteoarthritis. Trust a professional to help you regain your comfort quickly.
Elbow rehabilitation: at-home exercises and treatments
1. Wrist flexors: wrist rotation exercises with or without weights to treat tennis elbow
To perform the exercise, you must:
- Bend your elbow at a right angle
- Stretch out your hand and place your palm upwards
- Slowly turn your wrist until the palm is parallel to the ground
- Hold the position for 5 seconds
- Repeat 9 times
Perform 10 repetitions of this exercise at least two times a day.
2. Strengthening the wrist extensors for the rehabilitation of elbow tendinitis — eccentric exercise program
- Extend your arm straight out, parallel to the ground and have a surface or aid to support your arm.
- With the help of a light weight, control the descent of the weight and the bending of the wrist. Use your free hand to help slowly raise the weight back up to its starting position.
- Perform at least 2 sets of 10 repetitions to work on wrist flexion.
3. Two strengthening exercises for the rehabilitation of elbow dislocation
Exercise with a ball
- Sit comfortably.
- Choose a ball with good resistance, but not too much. It is better to use a softer ball than a volleyball, a tennis ball or basketball.
- With both your hands placed on either side, squeeze the ball as hard as you can.
- Hold the position for five seconds.
- Repeat the exercise at least 10 to 20 times.
Grabbing exercise or puppet exercise
- Using an anti-stress ball, close your hand gently and hold this closed fist position for 10 seconds.
- Slowly release, then bring your fingers back to the centre of your palm faces to close your fist again.
- Repeat 10 times, to 20 times.
Get a specialist to ease your pain
There are many other exercises such as those targeting the flexor or extensor muscles. Consult a specialist before doing an exercise session with these types of exercises. Otherwise, you risk making the situation worse.
Entrust the rehabilitation of your elbow and the associated exercises to a specialized doctor. To put a permanent end to your elbow pain, make an appointment at the clinic of Dr. Marc Beauchamp. We can offer you a personalized program of exercises to be performed at home for a speedy recovery.