If you haveelbow painor an injury to your elbow, wrist, or shoulder, you may benefit from physical therapy (PT) to improve your elbow’srange of motion(ROM), or its ability to move in a range of directions without pain.
Althoughtherapeutic modalitieslikeelectrical stimulationandultrasoundmay be used during your elbow rehab, exercise should be the mainstay of your physical therapy program. Your therapist will likely develop a home exercise program for you to do to improve your elbow ROM and strength so you can get back to normal use of your arm.
1
Get It Bending: Elbow Flexion
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Elbowflexionrefers to your ability to bend your elbow. To improve your elbow flexion ROM:
2
Straighten It Out: Elbow Extension
To improve your ability to fully straighten your elbow, you must work on elbow extension ROM exercises. To do this:
3
Turn It Over: Forearm Supination
The ability to turn your wrist over so your hand faces up is calledsupination, and this motion occurs at both your elbow and at your wrist joint. To improve your ability to supinate your hand, perform the forearm supination ROM exercise.
To do the exercise:
4Forearm and Elbow PronationForearm pronation refers to your ability to turn your hand over so your palm faces the floor. This motion is extremely important in performing tasks such as pouring a cup of coffee or playing the piano.To perform the forearm pronation ROM stretch:Stand or sit with your elbow bent 90 degrees and tucked in at your side.Turn your hand and wrist over as far as possible, then reach your other hand over the top of your forearm.Grab your wrist, and turn your arm further into a pronated position.Hold the position with pressure for five to 10 seconds, and then release the stretch.Repeat the pronation ROM stretch 10 times.ProgressionOnce you improve your elbow ROM with these exercises, your physical therapist may then prescribe strengthening exercises. These may include hand-gripping exercises with a towel, a handheld exercise device called the DigiFlex, ortherapy putty.You may also start to work onforearm strengthening with a dumbbell, and biceps and triceps strengthening may be required to help strengthen the muscles around your elbow and arm.
4
Forearm and Elbow PronationForearm pronation refers to your ability to turn your hand over so your palm faces the floor. This motion is extremely important in performing tasks such as pouring a cup of coffee or playing the piano.To perform the forearm pronation ROM stretch:Stand or sit with your elbow bent 90 degrees and tucked in at your side.Turn your hand and wrist over as far as possible, then reach your other hand over the top of your forearm.Grab your wrist, and turn your arm further into a pronated position.Hold the position with pressure for five to 10 seconds, and then release the stretch.Repeat the pronation ROM stretch 10 times.ProgressionOnce you improve your elbow ROM with these exercises, your physical therapist may then prescribe strengthening exercises. These may include hand-gripping exercises with a towel, a handheld exercise device called the DigiFlex, ortherapy putty.You may also start to work onforearm strengthening with a dumbbell, and biceps and triceps strengthening may be required to help strengthen the muscles around your elbow and arm.
Forearm and Elbow Pronation
Forearm pronation refers to your ability to turn your hand over so your palm faces the floor. This motion is extremely important in performing tasks such as pouring a cup of coffee or playing the piano.
To perform the forearm pronation ROM stretch:
Progression
Once you improve your elbow ROM with these exercises, your physical therapist may then prescribe strengthening exercises. These may include hand-gripping exercises with a towel, a handheld exercise device called the DigiFlex, ortherapy putty.
You may also start to work onforearm strengthening with a dumbbell, and biceps and triceps strengthening may be required to help strengthen the muscles around your elbow and arm.
SummaryElbow range of motion (ROM) exercises are a critical part of elbow, arm, and shoulder physical therapy. The goal of ROM exercises is to perform a range of movements in all possible directions without pain. Elbow ROM exercises improve your ability to bend and straighten your elbow and turn your arm over. Most exercises require nothing more than a towel for comfort, and can be done daily to improve your arm’s strength and mobility.Elbow ROM exercises should ultimately reduce pain, not make it worse. If an ROM exercise hurts you, stop doing it, and consult with your physical therapist about what to do instead.
Summary
Elbow range of motion (ROM) exercises are a critical part of elbow, arm, and shoulder physical therapy. The goal of ROM exercises is to perform a range of movements in all possible directions without pain. Elbow ROM exercises improve your ability to bend and straighten your elbow and turn your arm over. Most exercises require nothing more than a towel for comfort, and can be done daily to improve your arm’s strength and mobility.
Elbow ROM exercises should ultimately reduce pain, not make it worse. If an ROM exercise hurts you, stop doing it, and consult with your physical therapist about what to do instead.
3 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Frydman A, Johnston R, Smidt N, Green S, Buchbinder R.Manual therapy and exercise for lateral elbow pain.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018 Jun; 2018(6): CD013042. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD013042Güleçyüz MF, Pietschmann MF, Michalski S, et al.Reference values of flexion and supination in the elbow joint of a cohort without shoulder pathologies.Biomed Res Int. 2017;2017:1654796. doi:10.1155/2017/1654796Kim J, Yim J.Effects of an Exercise Protocol for Improving Handgrip Strength and Walking Speed on Cognitive Function in Patients with Chronic Stroke.Med Sci Monit. 2017;23:5402-5409. doi:10.12659/MSM.904723
3 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Frydman A, Johnston R, Smidt N, Green S, Buchbinder R.Manual therapy and exercise for lateral elbow pain.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018 Jun; 2018(6): CD013042. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD013042Güleçyüz MF, Pietschmann MF, Michalski S, et al.Reference values of flexion and supination in the elbow joint of a cohort without shoulder pathologies.Biomed Res Int. 2017;2017:1654796. doi:10.1155/2017/1654796Kim J, Yim J.Effects of an Exercise Protocol for Improving Handgrip Strength and Walking Speed on Cognitive Function in Patients with Chronic Stroke.Med Sci Monit. 2017;23:5402-5409. doi:10.12659/MSM.904723
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Frydman A, Johnston R, Smidt N, Green S, Buchbinder R.Manual therapy and exercise for lateral elbow pain.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018 Jun; 2018(6): CD013042. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD013042Güleçyüz MF, Pietschmann MF, Michalski S, et al.Reference values of flexion and supination in the elbow joint of a cohort without shoulder pathologies.Biomed Res Int. 2017;2017:1654796. doi:10.1155/2017/1654796Kim J, Yim J.Effects of an Exercise Protocol for Improving Handgrip Strength and Walking Speed on Cognitive Function in Patients with Chronic Stroke.Med Sci Monit. 2017;23:5402-5409. doi:10.12659/MSM.904723
Frydman A, Johnston R, Smidt N, Green S, Buchbinder R.Manual therapy and exercise for lateral elbow pain.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018 Jun; 2018(6): CD013042. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD013042
Güleçyüz MF, Pietschmann MF, Michalski S, et al.Reference values of flexion and supination in the elbow joint of a cohort without shoulder pathologies.Biomed Res Int. 2017;2017:1654796. doi:10.1155/2017/1654796
Kim J, Yim J.Effects of an Exercise Protocol for Improving Handgrip Strength and Walking Speed on Cognitive Function in Patients with Chronic Stroke.Med Sci Monit. 2017;23:5402-5409. doi:10.12659/MSM.904723
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