Stretch Your Forearms the Right Way (Doctor of PT)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 มิ.ย. 2024
- Stretching the forearms can seem like a simple task, bend your wrist forward and back and you're done, right? Well, no. Not at all. The human body is as awesome as it is complicated. It is intricately designed to allow us to move in multiple planes of motion. But to accomplish that, it had to finely adjust the placement of each muscle to work appropriately. If we take a look at those intricacies and start to better understand the anatomy of the forearm, we realize that by making a few minor adjustments, we can make some major improvements to our stretching.
In this video, we will use some markers to illustrate the important anatomy to climbing while demonstrating how to specifically target each muscle. This can be used as a tool in the future to assess areas of tension, to work on a stretch program, or when you are recovering from an injury.
Identifying the Anatomy aka, my poor attempt at drawing on my forearm
The list below identifies the muscle groups and their origin and insertion (aka, where they start and finish).
Extensors
Extensor carpi radialis longus
Origin: Lateral supracondylar ridge of humerus
Insertion: base of second metacarpal bone
Action: wrist extension and abduction (radial deviation)
Extensor carpi radialis brevis
Origin: Lateral epicondyle of humerus
Insertion: base of third metacarpal bone
Action: wrist extension and abduction (radial deviation)
Extensor carpi ulnaris
Origin: Lateral epicondyle of humerus and posterior border of ulna
Insertion: base of 5th metacarpal bone
Action: wrist extension and adduction (ulnar deviation)
Extensor digitorum
Origin: Lateral epicondyle of humerus
Insertion: extensor expansions of medial four digits
Action: Wrist extension, MCP, PIP, and DIP of 2-5 digits extension and abduction of fingers.
Flexors
Flexor carpi radialis
Origin: Medial epicondyle of humerus
Insertion: base of second metacarpal bone
Action: Wrist flexion and abduction of hand
Flexor carpi ulnaris
Origin: Humeral head: medial epicondyle of humerus and ulnar head: olecranon and posterior border of ulna
Insertion: pisiform bone, hook of hamate bone, and 5th metacarpal
Action: wrist flexion and adduction of hand
Palmaris longus
Origin: Medial epicondyle of humerus
Insertion: distal half of flexor retinaculum and palmar aponeurosis
Action: tightens palmar aponeurosis and is a weak elbow flexor
Flexor digitorum superficialis
Origin: Medial epicondyle of humerus
Insertion: bodies of middle phalanges of medial four digits
Action: flexion of wrist, MCP, and PIP joints of 2nd to 5th digits
Flexor digitorum profundus
Origin: Proximal three fourths of medial and anterior surfaces of ulna and interosseous membrane
Insertion: bases of distal phalanges of medial 4 digits
Action: Flexion of wrist, MCP, PIP of 2nd to 5th digits
Targeting Each Muscle
Based upon the anatomy, we have seen that these muscles are going to benefit from different stretching positions. Some may be as subtle as allowing 1 joint to flex while everything else extends. Below, we list the different positions you should be putting your forearm through to get the desired effect.
SECTION 1: Extensor stretches
Extensor carpi radialis longus
Wrist: flexion with ulnar deviation
Elbow: extended
Phalanges: relaxed
Extensor carpi radialis brevis
Wrist: flexion with ulnar deviation
Elbow: flexed or extended
Phalanges: relaxed
Extensor carpi ulnaris
Wrist: flexion and radial deviation
Elbow: flexed or extended
Phalanges: relaxed
Extensor digitorum
Wrist: flexion with neutral, radial, and ulnar deviation
elbow , flexed or extended
Phalanges: flexed
SECTION 2: Flexor stretches
Thumber thighs
Thumb pointing towards hip, the rest of the things palmside down on the thigh, start to extend (straighten) your elbow until you feel a stretch
Flexor digitorum superficialis stretch
Elbow: extended
Wrist: extended
MCP: extended
PIP: extended
DIP: flexed/relaxed
Flexor digitorum profundus stretch
Elbow: extended
Wrist: extended
MCP: extended
PIP: extended
DIP: extended
BONUS SECTION 3: Intrinsic Stretching
*For the bonus intrinsic stretches check out the full show notes at www.HoopersBeta.com/library
Disclaimer: As always, exercises are to be performed assuming your own risk and should not be done if you feel you are at risk for injury. See a medical professional if you have concerns before starting new exercises.
Written and Presented by Jason Hooper, PT, DPT, OCS, CAFS
IG: @hoopersbetaofficial
Filming and Editing by Emile Modesitt
www.emilemodesitt.com
IG: @emile166 - กีฬา
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That was such an informative and physically beneficial demonstration! I have lots of physical therapy in the past due to working on a keyboard , none of the prescribed therapy felt as targeted as your suggestions! My hands feel better already! I'll be tuning in for more sessions even though I am not a climber. Thank you so much. A 76 year old Grandma!
This may just be my favorite comment of the month! Happy to hear that this was able to reach you and help you feel better already! That's the best outcome we can hope for. Thanks for sharing.
I feel like keyboarding/typing really is the hardest thing on your hands. I'm a climber and artist and my hands never really hurt/bothered me until I got my first office job
+1 with keyboard pain. Works for me as well
I started going to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes recently and the first thing I noticed is that I get some pain on my left index and left wrist so I put some cold compress and reliever patches on the area only to wake up still with the discomfort. Google suggested some wrist curls and I watched a video prior the suggestion for yours. I'm so glad and lucky to have stumbled it as I felt immediate relief after doing the stretches and I really like how educational it is! Thank you 💖
Those marker marks are probably the most genius and effective way of helping understanding and “seeing” all the rationale. Thank you so much!
this is the best stretching video i've ever seen, i'm actually stretching muscles i've never felt before lol
Man this is a game changer thank you!
This video is extremely helpful! Thank you!
Thanks! This is exactly what I was looking for. Now I just need to memorize these to use them at the climbing gym every time.
The video I was looking for, thanks
Wow this is amazing.
I don't climb anything much but have had 2 weeks of tennis elbow so found this site. Oh wow after 2 days of stretching and massaging my arm is so much better. I am now following the stretching and warm up exercises for my legs as well. This is helping after a leg break and a fall. Great work at explaining and demonstrating what to do . Each stage is so well explained and I can see what I am trying to stretch . I also broke the 5th metatarsal in my foot which is healing . So how about a foot and toes stretching demonstration although I'm not sure that is what climbers need Im sure many who subscribe to you channel would welcome the help. . I think your videos are for everyone not just climbers
. Many thanks
As a musician I need to stretch my hands offten. Adding these to my routine has been helpful. Cheers
Happy to help!
Thanks a lot for yet another super helpful video! I've been doing a daily routine of massaging and doing these stretches, hoping that it will help me recover from a forearm injury. I think it might be an extensor injury, since I have pain on the upper/outer side of my forearms. It seems to be caused/triggered by sudden/powerful/dynamic pulls while climbing, where I feel a short and sharp jolt of pain. On rest days I feel it most profoundly on the outside of the forearms when turning/rotating my arms from palms down (thumbs pointing in) to palms up (thumbs pointing out). It gets better or worse in proportion to how hard I've been climbing/training. I'm already refraining from doing too many dynamic moves for now (like campus boarding), which - combined with your stretches - seems to make it better. But it's not going away. It went away when I was forced to stop climbing for a about month, only to come back when I started training harder again. Do you have any suggestions on what might be the cause and how to fix it? Thanks a lot and keep up the good work!🙏
Awesome video. Exactly what I was looking for. This channel is a treasure :D
Agreed! so much good info based in medicine.
THIS IS AMAZING
Great information! Really needed this!
Awesome! Our pleasure.
thanks doc!
awesome content
Hey. Thanks for this perfect info. Would you recommend doing those after each climbing session?
You do such a great job, thanks ❤
Thank you, I mostly used the stretches you presented here already, but the "thumbersize" was new to me and really helped me :)
Thumberthighs* but yes! Love that stretch.
@@HoopersBeta thx for clarifying, makes more sense ;)
This video is great - and I've not even watched half of it yet! I came here because of tennis elbow-type pain probably caused from using a mouse incorrectly, although I also did pull-ups and bar-hangs which probably didn't help. Coincidentally, I was thinking of getting into climbing just before covid hit. Anyway, you've just got a new subscriber and I look forward to watching your other videos. Thanks!
Thanks for the comment! Glad to have you as part of the HB fam!
after the gyms reopened last winter/spring, i've been going to the gym a lot (gotta send, lol). Over the last month or so, I've noticed increasing soreness in my wrists, hands and fingers. I've been trying out different stretches and taking breaks from the gym, but I still noticed the soreness. Then, I stumbled across this video last night and started your tips and I've already noticed an improvement in my symptoms!! Thank you so much for this video!! I hope this means many years of healthy climbing. :)
That's great to hear! Thanks for sharing.
It would be interesting to explain the timing of stretching; and if there are rules to respect regarding tension and subsequent release. Thank you
Hey! As always I really enjoyed the video and found it quite informative.
This is a little off topic but I remembered while I was trying out the finger stretches. Sometimes right when I come of my hangboard, my fingers stay in the half crimp position and I physically can't open them. There's never any pain but I do have to use my other hand to unbend them. This usually happens with the harder hangs where I'm pushing my max. I'm wondering if you have any experience with this. Again it doesn't actually cause me any pain its just a little uncomfortable and weird. For context I've been hangboarding for about a year and climbing for 3.
This is a tough one, but there are a few physiological components that could explain it. When we do our max effort, we are compression a lot of tissue and sometimes it's a neurovascular response to the compression of our vascular structures. It may also be a form of cramping where you are burning through energy stores in the muscle and finally give out but a brief moment of cramping occurs because there is no ATP left to break the bonds of the contraction. A third possibility is that it is simply a protective response: you're super engaged, and then all of the sudden you let go / fall off and the tension is no longer on the tissue/tendons so the body responds to that sudden change in a manner to protect itself from shortening or lengthening too quickly, so it sustains that position. I think a lot of us feel something similar to that. Think about busting off of a hold, you look down at your hands (to inspect your skin haha) but also because they are often times not moving and then feel pretty stiff after. Any of those number of components can explain it.
How the hell have you 4000 subscribers?
These videos are so helpful
We just need to infiltrate googles algorithms better. Know anyone? ;)
@@HoopersBeta you could do colabs to make other channel's subscribers know about you. You've got great content, seriously, they're gonna follow.
Also self promo on facebook groups, reddit threads, etc. I'm sure the majority of your subscribers feel the same way as Michele (so do i), so i don't think it'd bad to do a little bit of spam from time to time if it's for a good cause ;)
A very informative video. Thank you Dr. Hooper for sharing! I’m in my mid-50s. I had “tennis elbow” surgery in my late 20s. I recently aggregated my elbow from lifting boxes. I have been suffering with elbow pain and discomfort for the past six months. None of my old tricks such as massaging, TheraBand stretches, ice, etc. seemed to help alleviate my discomfort. These stretches provided me relief even after doing them just once! I also think adding the anatomy part to this video was also very helpful. It helped me visualized the stretches while doing them and help me better understand the anatomy behind each stretch.
Thank you for sharing! So glad to hear it was helpful.
Wow thanks so much! By me feeling your stretching method, I'm now learning that my right is very weak and I do everything with my right hand. this isn't good if I'm going to school for massage therapy.. Thank you so much
Maybe time to work on some strengthening! Good luck with massage therapy school!
Very awesome indeed
Oh and good video!
Wow this video was incredibly helpful! I realized my left forearm is really tight and I think the tightness in the my forearm extensors was causing the discomfort in the outside of my left elbow that I thought was golfer's elbow. Also maybe all this tightness on the left side explains why my left arm always gets pumped way before the right arm when I'm sport climbing? haha
Use the flexor stretches on a PT school practical literally the day after watching this 😂 thanks for the help
Haha perfect! That's awesome
Damn I just stretched with the fist and the thumbs on the outside of thighs, noticed how tight that was :o thanks a lot!
That stretch is basically second nature to me now, feels too good not to share!
nice thank you
So usefull
Nice for guitar players too!
This may be a more complex question than I think, but it is detrimental to do these stretches, specifically the ones that stretch the ulnar side of the wrist like the extensor carpi ulnaris stretch, when recovering from a TFCC extension injury? And if not, does when to start doing these stretches follow the same advice for when to start recovery exercises (no pain in full range of motion)?
Also, do you have a patreon page or anywhere we can donate? I really appreciate the work you all do and I'd love to contribute what I can
Slightly complex but not too bad! So the answer is: it depends. If the injury made.you hypermobile (excessive mobility) then you don't want to stretch and increase the mobility. That would be related more towards high level injuries. If, on the other hand, it was minor, gentle stretching can help to keep the joint mobility healthy while your tissue is still healing, that way you don't lose joint mobility by being too conservative. It follows a similar timeline to strengthening, yes, but if the injury is mild you can do gentle stretching slightly earlier than strengthening which will help prepare your tissue to go through the full range as your progress your strengthening.
No, we currently do not have a patreon account but we are thinking about it. Thanks for your support and for asking though! It's appreciated.
I believe you shouldn't stretch 'weak' muscles so if I believe my flexors are tight from computer use, should I only stretch the flexors and leave the extensors? And perhaps try strengthen the extensors since they get little work all day? Thanks.
Doing the lumbrical stretches creates pain, especially between the knuckles and PIP join. Am I doing something wrong?
Some of these good for radial head fractures?
How long should you do these stretches for?
Do we want to do this on recovery days or as a warmup just before a climb?
More so on recovery.
Could you do a video on knuckle cracking?
What in particular are you interested in regarding this?
Whether it is good or bad.
For how long you recommend holding the stretches?
If it is before you climb, keep it light/quick and dynamic. If you are doing it after or any other time then you can do sets of 30 seconds. Check out our stretch 101 video here to answer your question in more detail. th-cam.com/video/XqccZuIpaNw/w-d-xo.html
How long should I hold these positions 30s?
30-45 seconds is great if you're trying to improve mobility/muscle length.
@@HoopersBeta thanks a lot :)
As a colorblind person, all of the lines you drew on your arm look identical. Had to ask a friend which was which. Consider using more distinct colors.
Good video though.
Great suggestion! Thank you for that idea and sorry for the difficulties!
should we crack our knuckles?
No real harm as long as you aren't doing it excessively!
@@HoopersBeta thanks for the reply 😳❤️
3:40
I'm not sure if you look at old video comments Doc but if I just started climbing like 2-3 weeks ago twice a week every week and I want to keep that up, how long should I be holding these types of stretches? I assume there is a point where if I hold them too long/ do them too much it can be bad for me since I'm just starting and haven't really stretched/worked these muscles tendons before, is that true?
Thanks in advance if you see this @HoopersBeta
There's a point of diminishing returns if you hold them too long. Also overdoing it may be more related to how intensely you are holding the stretch. Be gentle and you can continue them at a higher frequency. That being said 30-45 seconds is still a good recommendation for static stretches. Welcome to climbing! Be patient with your progress, look into rest/deload weeks, and enjoy the great sport of climbing! 🙏
@@HoopersBeta Awesome! Thank you for the quick response. Super excited to get into it, been having an absolute blast so far. I tried out your hip stretch/ increased mobility stretches as well and those felt really good so I'm going to keep it up with that too! Thanks for the amazing content