7 Best Physical Therapy Range of Motion Exercises For Elbow

Elbow injuries can be frustrating due stubborn lingering symptoms months after the initial injury. These lingering symptoms include elbow pain and decreased elbow range of motion. The #1 way to gain full elbow range of motion is through these 7 physical therapy range of motion exercises for elbow with pictures.

Elbow injuries are common in athletes and anyone performing repetitive activities or sports. Tennis elbow or lateral epicondylitis is found in 50% of tennis players.

The 7 physical therapy exercises in this post will include range of motion exercises for elbow, elbow strengthening exercises, and wrist mobility exercises. Each of these exercises includes pictures and easy-to-follow instructions on how to perform each exercise. These exercises are designed to be performed by any skill level.

Anatomy of Elbow

The elbow is created by 3 bones. These bones are the humerus or the upper arm bone and the radius and the ulna, which are the 2 forearm bones. As you can see from this picture, the forearm muscles insert on either side of the elbow, run along the front or back of the forearm and attach along the wrist.

Due to these attachments, many times when you have an elbow injury, it can also affect your wrist mobility and wrist strength. This is why it is important to develop an exercise program that includes wrist exercises in addition to elbow mobility exercises.

Causes/Conditions

So what causes a lack of elbow range of motion? More importantly which elbow injury conditions are associated with this lack of mobility? Before we can learn how to treat elbow mobility issues, we must first answer these 2 very important questions!

• Tennis Elbow, also known as lateral epicondylitis
  • This can be a common injury in a tennis player due to the repetitive activity of tennis.
  • Tennis elbow occurs when the tendons on the outside of the elbow become inflamed.
• Golfer’s Elbow
  • Another term for this elbow injury is medial epicondylitis.
  • It commonly occurs in golfers and occurs when the tendons on the inside of the elbow become inflamed.
• Elbow Fracture
  • An elbow fracture can result in a lack of range of motion in the elbow.
    • Depending on where the elbow fracture is, you may need surgery called an open reduction internal fixation (ORIF.)
      • If this is the case you may have stiffness and lack of mobility in the elbow.
• Elbow Dislocation
  • The elbow joint is created by the upper arm bone or the humerus and the 2 forearm bones, the radius, and the ulna.
  • A dislocation occurs when these joint surfaces become separated.
    • This can occur due to a fall on an outstretched hand.
  • This can result in a decrease in elbow mobility.

If you are a tennis player and also have shoulder pain you may need shoulder exercises. Tennis shoulder and rotator cuff tears are common and these are the 10 Best Tennis Shoulder Exercises For Tennis Players.

Elbow Range of Motion Exercises After Fracture

The most beneficial elbow range of motion exercises after fracture are range of motion exercises for fractured elbow to improve elbow stiffness.

These include passive range of motion exercises for elbow, meaning the elbow is moved passively by a physical therapist or by using your opposite arm. They also include active range of motion exercises for elbow meaning you actively move the elbow with your muscles.

Physical Therapy And Occupational Therapy

It is best to see your healthcare provider prior to starting any new exercise program. Your healthcare provider will be able to provide you with the best medical advice. If you do have a severe injury they may refer you to orthopedic surgeons. The orthopedics surgeons will be able to determine the right surgery for you.

Once you have been cleared for physical therapy it’s a good idea to see a physical therapist for an evaluation. A physical therapist can evaluate you and determine the best way to treat your specific injury. If you do have a lot of inflammation your doctor may recommend a compression sleeve to reduce the inflammation.

These are the best examples of exercises to improve your elbow active range of motion and get you to a gradual return to all of the daily tasks and activities that you love.

Alternative Elbow Pain Treatment

Electrical stimulation was a modality that was commonly used in the past, however research has shown that it does not aide in achieving more elbow range of motion. It can be used to help the muscles of the forarm to contract, however if your muscles are contracting on their own electrical stimulation is not necessary.

You may be seen by a physical therapist or occupational therapist depending on your elbow injury. They may provide manual therapy by massaging the soft tissues around the elbow. They may also help the patient to perform passive range of motion exercises if they are unable to perform active range of motion exercises.

Physical Therapy Range Of Motion Exercises For Elbow And Wrist

All of these elbow exercises should begin without any weight. It is important to gain range of motion prior to adding any resistance. When it is time to start adding weight, start with light weight and slowly progress from there. These elbow range of motion exercises include 1. Elbow Flexion 2. Elbow Extension 3. Forearm Pronation 4. Forearm Supination 5. Tricep Stretch.

1. Elbow Flexion

• Start with your elbow straight at your side.
• Now slowly bend your elbow as much as you can.
• Now use your other hand to push your forearm towards your arm for an increased range of motion.

2. Elbow Extension Exercises

• Start with your elbow bent at your side.
• Now slowly straighten your elbow as much as you can.
• Once you have straightened your arm as much as you can, you will now use your other hand to provide an overpressure to your wrist to straighten the elbow more.

3. Forearm Pronation

• The starting position for this exercise is with the palm facing up toward the ceiling.
• Now slowly rotate your arm down until your palm is facing the floor.
• If you do not have full range of motion you may need to use your other hand to gently help rotate your arm.
• This exercise works your forearm muscles.
• If it feels too easy you can add a light weight or hammer for added difficulty.

4. Forearm Supination

• The starting position for this exercise is with the palm facing down toward the floor.
• Now rotate your arm upward until your palm is facing the ceiling.
• Again, just like in the previous exercise, if you do not have full range of motion you can use your other hand to gently push down and further rotate your arm.
• If this exercise is too easy you can use a light weight or hammer and perform this exercise by alternating between forearm supination and forearm pronation.

5. Tricep Stretch

• Start with your affected arm bent over your head.
• Now take your opposite hand and apply an overpressure to your elbow to allow for an increased stretch in your tricep muscles.

Wrist Exercises

These wrist exercises include 6. Wrist Flexion and 7. Wrist Extension.

6. Wrist Flexion

• This exercise is best performed while sitting with your forearm resting on a table.
• For wrist flexion, the back of your hand should be resting on the table with your palm facing up.
  • This position allows you to work against gravity.
• Now lift your wrist up as high as you can and then slowly bring it back to the starting position.
• If you have full range of motion you can use a resistance band for added difficulty.
• For added resistance you can use a resistance band with handles like the one in this picture.

7. Wrist Extension

• This exercise is similar to the previous exercise set up, except your palm will start facing down.
• This exercise is best performed with the forearm resting on the table and the wrist hanging off the table.
• Now slowly lift your wrist up until it is as high as you can lift it and then slowly bring it down to starting position.
• If you have full wrist range of motion you can use a resistance band for added difficulty.

Summary of Range of Motion Exercises For Elbow

These exercises will get you back to the daily activities that you love. These 7 range of motion exercises for elbow will improve your elbow mobility, elbow strength and the ability for you to use your elbow in your daily life.

These simple exercises should be performed at least once a day for the greatest effectiveness. It is important to note that the goal of these physical therapy exercises is to improve elbow mobility.

Some of these exercises may cause slight discomfort or the feeling of a strong stretch. A slight discomfort or stretch is ok, but these exercises should not be painful. If any of these exercises are painful stop and follow up with your healthcare provider.

If your lack of range of motion is due to an elbow sprain you can find 10 Best Elbow Sprain Exercises To Rehab Elbow Injury here. These 10 exercises include elbow strengthening exercises, elbow stretching exercises, and exercises to improve elbow range of motion.