Sebastian Brosche · 12 min · 1,510 words
Previously titled: Video 1 - Elbow Hyperextension Rehab
Hi everyone, in this rehab program we're going to look at a common jiu-jitsu injury. We're going to look at elbow hyperextension. So that's if you've been arm barred perhaps, your arm has been bent too far backwards and now it's very sore. Look at what you can do about this.
Now if you look at the structure of the elbow, compared to the knee joint there are some differences. The thing that restricts extension when we take the arm to the end range, it's actually bone on bone at the back of the elbow here. It means there's not so much stress on the ligaments, so compared to the corresponding knee joint injury we're less likely to see serious ligament damage, although it can happen on occasion. But what we more often see is a very sore and inflamed elbow joint.
We can also see damage to the muscles and the tendons around the elbow. You've got the forearm muscles that control the wrist, you've got the flexors and the extensors and you've also got the bicep and tricep muscles. The muscles and tendons can get quite sore either as a result of the original injury or as a result of the subsequent inflammation that takes place. We also need to look at the shoulder when we're looking at rehab and making sure that the shoulder is moving well and it's as strong as it needs to be.
So we're going to look at all of those aspects in this rehab program. So for day one we're going to need a bit of theraband and I'm also going to use just a stick. I've used the inside of an adjustable dumbbell for this, but any bit of dowel will be fine. Now supposing that the injury has recently happened, the first thing I want to do is to get that arm moving.
I'm just going to keep it within the comfortable range to start with, I'm just going to move it backwards and forwards and this is something that you want to be doing as often as you possibly can in that early stage following the injury. I'm not going to try and push the arm towards the end range, I'm not going to push into pain, I'm just going to use the range I've got, just taking it up to the edge of that discomfort in each direction, keeping it moving. Over time we'll gradually start to get a little bit more range back, I'm just not going to force it. And then along with that I'm just going to take hold of the stick and I'm just going to turn the elbow, this is the other movement of the elbow, this pronation supination movement.
And again we want to just mobilise that, obviously the heavier the stick you're using or if we add a little bit of weight to this end we can add some more load but at the moment it's just the movement that I want. And then drop the stick down. And the next thing I'm going to do is I'm going to do an isometric for the bicep muscles. So I'm going to use my opposite hand just to place and I'm going to push up with the lower hand.
So I'm going to contract my biceps but the other hand's blocking the movement. So it's a static contraction, I'm just going to hold that, I'm going to push as hard as I can comfortably, so without pushing into pain. And relax. I'm going to do the opposite, I'm going to push down so I'm going to use the triceps muscles, once again it's a static contraction and I'm just going to hold this for around 10-15 seconds, once again pushing as hard as I can but without pushing it into pain.
And relax and then I'm just going to push back up again so I switch over. And the idea with these is we're getting the muscles working but without, in a very, we're getting the muscles working in a safe way and in the middle of the range, without putting too much stress on the joint. Like that, and we're going to push down. The great thing with these is they're very easy to control, I can make sure I'm not taking it too far, I'm not pushing into pain, I'm not aggravating the problem, just engaging the muscles.
And then we're just going to go back around that circuit again so I'm just doing the flexion and extension and this may seem quite boring but it's a really good way of speeding up your recovery process. So if you're sat watching TV or doing anything else, you can just sit there, keep that elbow moving. As long as you're not taking it too far or trying to force it further than it wants to go, you can do lots of this. And then taking the stick backwards and forwards.
And then rest. Going to go back to the isometrics, so just pushing up against my opposite hand. The great thing about this little sequence is you can do this anywhere. And then pushing down.
I want to make sure I'm keeping my shoulder blades back when I'm doing this, I'm not hunching forwards. And push up again. And push down. And rest there.
The next thing I'm going to do is just go into a wrist flexor stretch. So I'm stretching out the muscles on the front of the forearm there. And these muscles often get tight in jujitsu players because of all the gripping that we do. So we're just stretching those muscles out.
Again, I'm not pushing into pain, I don't want to try and force the elbow straight, I'm just taking it as far as I can comfortably and then back off. So you'll notice that I can still get quite a good stretch even if I'm keeping my elbow slightly bent. I may not have that full extension movement yet. That's quite normal in the early stages after a hyperextension injury.
And grab your theraband. What I'm going to do now, I'm taking the band, palms down, I wrap the band around the back of my hands and I'm going to push my hands apart. There's tension between the hands on the band. I can adjust that tension.
If I'm getting soreness at the elbow then I can loosen it off, I can make it a bit easier for myself. The different strengths of band as well. So the green band is quite a medium strength, a red or a yellow would be lighter. I can go to a blue or a black which is heavier.
I can relax there. Take the band out in front of me, palms up. I'm going to go to pull aparts. So I'm taking the hands apart, bring the band to my chest.
Again if you need to keep a bit of a bend in the elbow, that's fine. I'm going to take the arms as straight as I can comfortably and just repeat that movement. Once again a little bit of mild discomfort at the elbow is okay but I don't want it to be more than that. If we're pushing into pain then we need to back off.
And then we go back. This is an isometric for the shoulder, it's time for the rotator cuff. But again these muscles can often get sore following an elbow injury. And then just taking the band out in front.
Once again. And rest there. And we're going to go back to the wrist flexor stretch. But this time what I'm going to do is I'm going to push back.
So I'm going to curl my wrist up against the pressure. So I'm going to do that movement but against the pressure of my other hand. So I'm holding that and then I relax and stretch a little bit further. Go back to mobilising and push back once more.
And relax. Grab the band again. And we're just going to do one more set on these. So wrap the band around the hands, push the hands apart and just hold that with that tension.
You should feel tension at the back of the shoulders with this one. And the idea is you want to hold it at a level that you can maintain quite comfortably for about 15 to 20 seconds. You can feel it working but it shouldn't be painful. And relax there.
Take the arms out in front. And one final set of pull-aparts. And rest there. And that's all for day one.
So it's a relatively short programme but I do recommend repeating this several times a day. So in the early stages, keeping the joint moving and keeping the muscles working using those isometrics, that's the best thing you can do to speed up your recovery. We'll see you back here when you're ready for day two and we'll increase the difficulty of some of these exercises.
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