rehab for hyperextended elbow.

[FatherDog]

Had someone fall on my elbow the friday before last, and got that nice "CLICKLICKLICK" ratcheting noise of a hyperextension. Rested and iced and took anti-inflammatories, and I have full ROM back, but it's still very sore when fully extended. Anyone with experience have a rehab program for this injury they'd recommend? I have tournaments coming up in March and I want to spend as little time as possible ****ing around with light training.

[Ford Prefect]

I know it stinks, but rest rest rest. I had a similar thing happen to me a tournament. I got caught in an arm bar, thought I could escape, and then the kid started cranking like crazy. My elbow was like *pop* *pop* *pop*. The kid even let go right away. I tried about everything under the sun, but it never fully healed until a bad knee injury made me stop training for a little over a month.

The good thing is that after a week or so, the only that was effected was my striking since my elbow was so weak. My submission stuff was fine and I was able to go 100% again after maybe 2 weeks. It was scary for sure though. I couldn't even lift a glass the day after. Like I said, there was still an inherent weakness there until I laid off everything completely.

[FatherDog]

if it's sore in full extension, then probably there is a) residual inflammation locally in the joint capsule which when the close packed position (full extension) causes irritation and b) some reflexive inhibition of the elbow flexors that are resisting end range extension, and would also create an environment where inflammation would dissapate less efficiently;

this is assuming you didn't actually tear something (ligament, capsule) - but that would probably manifest as sharp pain and / or significantly decreased stabilty at the joint;

Yeah, there wasn't any sharp pain even when it was injured; there was the immediate shock of the arm bending, then just dull ache.

to rehab I would focus on total relaxation of the cervicothoracic joint (C7-T1), allowing the respiratory mechanism to equilibrate, and work your way out from there, however you are able; then, work through the pain free range of the joint; when you get to the barrier (initial onset of pain), back off a little; then let your breathing guide you: when you go into the pain, does it feel better when you inhale or exhale? whichever cycle it is, use that to "carry" you into the pain range; then gently back off during the opposite cycle; repeat as needed until you feel you are done - but go easy - this is using the coordination of breath and movement to clear inflammationm at the cellular level and it can be deceptively efficient - drink some water afterwards, lay off the arm; you can do this a few times a day at least, schedule depending - the important thing is not to be in a rush - if you are in a good parasympathetic state, 8 to 12 breath cycles can take a fair amount of time; you are also retraining the muscle spindle, so don't force anything; there should be no heavy duty pain with this...

of course, the above is asuggestion - it may not work for reasons' beyond my awareness - but if it helps, great;

So, for us laymen - extend the arm to the maximum it goes without pain, then exhale/inhale and relax the muscle, allowing it to extend further. Back off a little, then relax and extend further?

Sounds kind of like the "relax into stretch" stretching methods.

[Ford Prefect]

Tried that. Didn't work. I'm pretty well read when it comes to issues like this and I have access to pretty good resources as well. Some respected sports doctors (who work with high profile athletes regularly) all basically said the same thing to me when all is said and done: rest.

Immediately upon injury, you should compress and treat with cold.

After that, wearing a brace to prevent full extension will help prevent re-injury from the weakenned ligament/joint structure. Wearing a heat retaining support may help as well.

In the end, ligaments take time to heal and nothing is going to really speed of the process. All you can do is prevent re-injury and maintain as much ROM and strength as possible while healing.

[Ford Prefect]

I agree it's worth a shot. I got those few doctor friend's opinions, and then went on to my PT friends, yogi's, and accupuncturist anyway because it was worth a shot. Nada. The only thing that even did a half way decent job was Active Release Therapy, which I was turned on to by one of the trainers for our local NFL team. They commonly use it for connective tissue injuries.

For a list of local ART practitioners:

http://www.activerelease.com/providerSearch.asp

[yenhoi]

Brace and rest.

I just trained for close to 6 weeks basically not using my left arm.

Works tho..

[waterleopard]

I did the same thing. It's been bothering me for several months, and slowly getting better. At first, lifting a glass of water with my arm extended hurt like heck. Now it's slightly painful (and weak) when I pull. Pushups feel fine, but lifting a heavy box hurts.

Greetings, btw, this is my first post after monitoring for a few years.