All About Elbows
With the month of May marking National Physiotherapy Month, the University of Guelph’s Health and Performance Centre has been highlighting a different area of the body each week to showcase some of the ways our talented team of physiotherapists [1] can help you achieve your optimal health.
This week’s spotlight is all about elbows!
Having elbow issues? Book your appointment now with one of the talented members from our team of HPC physiotherapists. Our practitioners can help you get back to moving pain-free while also increasing your overall strength and providing education on how to avoid future injury.
* Head to our Instagram page (@hpcguelph) [3] to check out some outstanding video instruction on how to improve the overall health and mobility of your elbows! *
Anatomy of the Elbow
• The elbow is made up of the humerus (upper arm bone) and the radius and ulna (bones of the forearm).
• The muscles that cross the elbow allow us to move this hinge joint into flexion, extension, pronation and supination.
• The major muscles that surround the elbow include: biceps brachii, triceps brachii, brachialis, brachioradialis, pronator teres, supinator, and extensor and flexor muscles that primarily create movement at the level of the hand.
• Elbow pain is common in people who throw, use racquets and play contact sports. Your pain could be a result of a strain of the muscles or a sprain of the ligaments, a dislocation or a fracture.
• To prevent elbow pain from occurring, consider stretching as well as strengthening your stiff or weak elbows. To help treat elbow swelling, consider some self-lymphatic drainage.
Stretching, Strengthening & Alleviating Swelling in the Elbow
Throughout the week, head to our HPC Instagram page [3] to check out some step-by-step instruction on how to properly stretch, strengthen and alleviate swelling in your elbows!
Our Guelph physiotherapists have laid out some exercises to help you increase your range of motion, relieve swelling and improve the overall strength of your elbows with some easy-to-follow instructions that can be done in the comfort of your own home.
Related Articles:
All About Ankles [5]
All About Knees [6]
