5 Exercises for ‘Climber’s Elbow’
What is Climber’s Elbow?
Medial epicondylitis, also known as climber’s, golfer’s, or baseball elbow; is an overuse injury of the elbow characterized by pain from the elbow to the rest on the medial side of the elbow. The pain is caused by damage and inflammation of the tendons which help to bend the palm towards the forearm. These tendons attach the flexor muscles of the finger and forearm to the medial epicondyle of the elbow. If you want to know exactly where the medial epicondyle is located, hold your arm out in front of you with your palm facing up. With your other hand, move up your arm from the pinky side of your wrist until you locate a bump at the elbow – that’s the medial epicondyle!
The medial elbow region is prone to overuse injuries in climbing for a couple of reasons. First, the tendons which attach to the medial epicondyle are connected to the forearm muscles that are responsible for wrist and finger flexion which allows you to squeeze or grab things. Second, the muscles that are responsible for pronation (turning your palm away from you) also attach to the medial epicondyle via tendons. As you can imagine, these motions (wrist flexion, finger flexion, and pronation) are extremely important in climbing. When you climb, these muscles that attach to the medial epicondyle do a lot of work when you grasp a hold. Doing this repeatedly leads to inflammation and tiny tears in these muscles and tendons ultimately leading to pain at the medial side of the elbow and forearm
What are the causes and risk factors of medial epicondylitis?
- Repeatedly using your wrist, arm, and hand to bend, grasp, or twist things
- Frequently carrying heavy items such as a suitcase
- Frequent use of heavy hand tools such as operating a chain saw or chopping wood with an ax
- regularly in sports such as rock climbing, golf, javelin, and tennis which place repetitive stress on the muscles and tendons that attach to the medial epicondyle
- Weak shoulder and wrist muscles that are unable to meet the demands of the sports/activities you engage in, therefore placing excess stress on the tendons
What are the symptoms of Climber’s Elbow?
- Pain along the forearm and elbow on the same side as the pinky finger (medial side)
- Worsening pain when bending the wrist towards the palm against resistance or when making a fist/squeezing an object
- Aching pain in the forearm and wrist
- Stiffness and reduced range of motion of the elbow
- Decreased grip strength
- Numbness and tingling in your hand that may radiate into the pinky and ring fingers
Treatment and Prevention of Medial Epicondylitis:
As with any overuse injury, the first step in treating climber’s elbow is to give your arm a break. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to stop climbing, golfing, or using the arm altogether, but a period of relative rest and activity reduction is important to reduce the inflammation and allow the muscles and tendons a chance to recover. Icing the elbow and forearm in the initial stages of pain can also be an effective way to reduce pain and inflammation. There are also braces for climber’s elbow that can be used to minimize irritation and provide support to the elbow while climbing. A physiotherapist can help to assess your injury and determine if a brace is an appropriate option for you.
Physiotherapy will be an extremely important aspect of medial epicondylitis treatment. As both climbers and athletes, the physiotherapists at Elios Health are very familiar with medial epicondylitis and want to help you minimize the impact your symptoms place on your climbing and daily activities. If you are suffering from elbow and forearm pain, book an appointment with one of our physiotherapists today. The practitioners at Elios Health will conduct a full physical assessment to determine if medial epicondylitis is the cause of your pain. They will then use a combination of manual therapy, massage, modalities such as intramuscular stimulation, active and passive range of motion exercises, and strengthening exercises to minimize your pain and prevent future injury.
Exercises for Climber’s Elbow:
Strengthening and stretching the forearm muscles is a crucial aspect of treating and preventing medial epicondylitis. Try incorporating the following exercises into your workouts! These exercises can be done every other day until your symptoms subside, or you can continue to perform them to prevent medial epicondylitis from occurring in the future.
1. Resisted wrist flexion: 2x 10-20 reps: Hold a TheraBand with your hand and secure the other end under your foot. With your palm facing up, bend the wrist up towards you as far as you can, hold for 1 second, and slowly lower for 3 seconds.
2. Resisted wrist extension: 2x 10-20 reps: Hold a TheraBand with your hand and secure the other end under your foot. With your palm facing down, bend the up towards you as far as you can, hold for 1 second, and slowly lower for 3 seconds.
3. Resisted forearm supination and pronation: 2x 10-20 reps: Holding a dumbbell in your hand, support your forearm with your thigh or a table and slowly rotate your forearm from palm down to palm up positions.
4. Wrist flexors stretch: 3x 15 seconds: Hold the arm in front of you with the elbow straight and palm facing up. Use your opposite hand to grasp your hand and gently stretch the wrist backward until you feel a stretch on the front of the forearm and wrist.
5. Wrist extensors stretch: 3x 15 seconds: Hold the arm in front of you with the elbow straight and palm facing down Use your opposite hand to grasp your hand and gently stretch the wrist downwards until you feel a stretch on the back of the forearm and wrist.
Original Post by Rachel Rubin-Sarganis
Photo by Ayush Sharma