Experiencing a burning pain in your elbow? You may have a condition called ulnar nerve entrapment.
This condition is also called cubital tunnel syndrome, and it leads to inflammation of the ulnar nerve where it runs through the elbow. Cubital tunnel syndrome also causes the ulnar nerve to have difficulty moving within the cubital tunnel. One study of this condition found that nearly 6% of the people surveyed had it.
Physical therapists can help ease the restriction of the ulnar nerve, and they can also help reduce the burning pain in the elbow that cubital tunnel syndrome causes. One way they can help you meet these goals is with therapeutic exercises like:
- Elbow flexion with wrist extension
An exercise that can help reduce your burning wrist pain is elbow flexion with wrist extension. This movement falls into a category of exercises called nerve gliding exercises, and such exercises are intended to reduce nerve movement restriction and pain.
How to do the elbow flexion with wrist extension exercise
- Sit up straight in a stable chair with your feet flat on the floor.
- Start out by straightening your affected arm and raising it to about shoulder level.
- Turn your palm so that it’s facing the floor.
- Flex your hand and pull your fingers upward.
- Slowly bend your arm until your hand is as close to your shoulder as possible.
- Return your arm to the starting position, and then repeat the exercise until you’ve done five repetitions.
- Arm raise with head tilt
A second nerve gliding exercise your physical therapist may recommend to reduce your burning elbow pain is the arm raise with head tilt.
How to do the arm raise with head tilt exercise
- Sit in a stable chair with good, upright posture and your feet flat on the floor.
- Slowly raise the affected arm to shoulder height.
- Turn your palm so that it’s facing the ceiling.
- Slowly tilt your head away from your hand until you feel a stretch.
- Hold this position for two or three seconds and then return your head to a neutral position.
- Repeat the stretch five times in total. You can deepen the stretch by stretching your fingers down toward the floor.
Panther PT can help treat your burning elbow pain
Ready to find even more help for the burning pain in your elbow? Our team at Panther Physical Therapy can offer effective treatment for your pain. We’ll start by doing a free screening to confirm the source of your elbow discomfort. Our team can then construct a customized physical therapy plan for you that’s designed to:
- Reduce pain.
- Improve joint mobility.
- Increase your ability to do normal daily activities.
- Decrease your risk of future elbow issues.
You can even use our virtual therapy and at-home care services to get our help right in your own home.
Contact our team today for more information about how we can treat your elbow pain or to schedule an initial appointment.