Elbow Joint Mobility & Strength Exercises
Following on from my last article on elbow pain, I wanted to share with you some exercises for increasing the mobility and strength of your elbow joint.
- Stand or lie down. Bend and straighten your elbow to its outer limits without creating pain. Repeat 5 to 10 times.
- Sit with your forearm flat on a table and the palm of your hand against the table top. Then turn your forearm so that the back of your hand is resting on the table and then turn your forearm again so the palm of your hand is against the table. Repeat 5 to 10 times.
- Practice screwing and unscrewing a screw with a screwdriver, while holding your upper arm close to your body. Repeat 5 to 10 times.
- Hold a dumb-bell in your hand (or a can from your kitchen cupboard) and then bend and straighten the elbow joint. Repeat 5 to 10 times. You can gradually increase the weight to build strength.
- Stand up and do press ups against a wall. Ensure that you bend your elbow to the maximum and fully straighten your arms. Repeat 5 to 10 times.
- Hold a barbell in your hands (or a mop handle or broom handle), bend and straighten your elbow joint. Repeat 5 to 10 times.
Static Stretching Exercises
- Flex one elbow joint to 90 degrees, then with your other hand resist your bent arm trying to touch your shoulder for 4 – 7 seconds and relax for 2 seconds.
- Straighten your arm backwards and take hold of a banister or something similar with your outstretched hand and stretch for 6-8 seconds by bending your knees.
Related Posts

Is the way you breathing causing your neck pain? – Part 2
In my last post, I explained how both your scalenes and sternocleidomastoid can become both tense and painful from shallow breathing. Obviously deep breathing will help as it will address the cause. But what if you have a bad habit of shallow breathing, and know its causing tension in your neck muscles? First there are some stretches that will help.
Finally you can book a Seated Acupressure Neck & Shoulder massage.- Sternocleidomastoid Stretch
The sternocleidomastoid muscle runs like two long strap-like muscles on either side of the front of the neck.
To stretch it, rotate the head to one side as far as is comfortable. Then tilt the head to the same side, as if trying to reach the ear to the shoulder.
Hold for 30 seconds and then repeat on the other side of your neck.
- Scalenes Stretch

Heel Pain – Part 2 – Grumbling Achilles Tendon
Last week I discussed Plantar Fasciitis one of the major causes of heel pain, this week I am going to discuss a grumbling achilles tendon, or to be technically correct, non-insertional Achilles tendinopathy, he other major cause of heel pain. Although a rupture of the Achilles is well known, it is actually more common to have what is known as a grumbling Achilles. The pain is felt at the back of the heel above where the Achilles tendon joins the bone. It feels stiff and swollen, particularly in the morning and can prevent the sufferer from taking part in sport. Sometimes the pain is lower down where the tendon joins the bone. How can I tell if my heel pain is a grumbling achilles tendon? You may have swelling over or either side of your achilles tendon which runs from your heel to your calf muscles. The skin over the achilles tendon may be red and/or hot. If you sit down with your feet on the floor and raise your foot, as you use your achilles tendon you may hear a crackling sensation. What causes a grumbling achilles tendon?
- The tab on your shoe rubbing against your achilles tendon.
- Failing to warm up properly before playing sports.
- Over use of the tendon from intensive training, e.g. running
- Scar tissue from a previous injury.
- High impact on hard surfaces e.g. any sport where you jump or tennis.

Headaches Treatment & Prevention – Part 3
Having looked at how to describe and classify headaches & migraines in my introduction, I then moved on to look at how massage can help sufferers in part 1. Then in part 2 I looked at how nutrition and Bowen technique could help. I want to continue to explore the impact of complementary therapies on headaches. Cranio-Sacral Therapy Cranio-sacral therapy is a system of alternative medicine intended to relieve pain and tension by gentle manipulations of the skull regarded as harmonizing with a natural rhythm in the central nervous system. Cranio-sacral therapists suspect the occipito-atlanteal junction at the top of the neck may contribute to the cause of headaches especially migraines. If the first vertebrae and the occipital condyles at the base of the skull become jammed together or fixed, which effects the vagus nerves, throwing the parasympathetic nervous system into dysfunction. Cranio-sacral therapists report releasing the occipital condyles nearly always results in the reduction of migraines patterns in clients. Acupuncture Acupuncture is a treatment derived from ancient Chinese medicine in which fine needles are inserted at certain sites in the body for therapeutic or preventative purposes. There is some scientific evidence acupuncture has a beneficial effect on headaches and migraines (see >> http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Acupuncture/Pages/Evidence.aspx)

