Therapeutic exercises >>>> Exercises to restore the elbow joint

Exercises to restore the elbow joint.

The elbow joint is one of the most traumatized, as it takes on the load when lifting weights, active manual work, when playing sports, when falling and repelling blows (it is substituted mechanically to soften a fall or blow).

Sprains, ruptures and tears of ligaments, inflammation (epicondylitis), arthrosis, postoperative complications in the elbow joint often cause limitation of joint mobility as a result of the development of contractures of muscle tissue and ligamentous apparatus of the joint.

To restore the elbow joint, there are exercises, the regular performance of which will gradually reduce the contracture "to naught" and help restore motor activity in the elbow joint.

All exercises are performed after preliminary hand massage in the areas adjacent to the elbow joint to warm up the muscles.

Exercise 1. Place the arm bent at the elbow on the support (flat surface), resting the forearm on the support. With the other hand, grab the wrist of the injured hand and try to straighten the arm at the elbow, while with the sore hand we offer resistance to ourselves (as in armwrestling). Hold the tension for two minutes, then a break for two minutes. Repeat several times a day.

Exercise 2. Turning the elbow outward. We try to straighten the arm at the elbow as much as possible, grasp the hand on the injured arm with the other hand and turn it at the wrist away from us (as if twisting the arm outward to ourselves). Repeat 5-10 times in increasing order.

Exercise 3. Rotate the elbow inward. We grab the arm straightened as much as possible (if possible) at the elbow with the other hand and turn it inward (twisting the hand to itself inward). Repeat 5-10 times in increasing order.

Exercise 4. In a standing position, spread your arms to the sides, raise your forearms parallel to the floor and, forming a right angle at the elbow, turn your palms outward. Turn both arms down at the same time without lowering the forearms. Return to original position. Repeat 10-15 times.

Exercise 5. Sit sideways to the table, fold 20 objects on the table at arm's length. Raise the injured hand and shift one object closer to you, so that the joint is in motion and overhang.

Exercise 6. Stand near a vertical surface (wall or cabinet door) sideways and at a distance of one step from the surface, lean with the injured hand at shoulder level and push up from the vertical surface with the injured hand.

Exercise 7. In a sitting or standing position, grip one side of the expander with your foot, and grab the other side with the injured hand and raise your hand, pulling the expander towards you, as far as the pain effect allows, but without overcoming the pain.

Exercises to restore and develop the elbow joint are performed after removing the plaster casts and healing the tissues. When developing an elbow joint, regularity of exercise is important, not the degree of endurance of the joint.