Arm Joints

If you''ve ever twisted your elbow, sprained your wrist or jammed your finger, you''ve learned the hard way just how important your arm joints are. The arms may be the tools of industry in our life, but the arm joints are the infrastructure without which nothing gets done.

To understand why joints get injured, it helps to know some anatomy basics. A joint is where two or more bones come together. Ligaments are strong, rubbery strands that connect one bone to another. Tendons are strands that usually connect muscles to bones. Bursae are tiny sacs of liquid that help keep ligaments and tendons from rubbing against each other or against bone and prevent excess wear.

Picturing that, it''s pretty simple to understand joint injuries. Mostly, they''re muscles, tendons or ligaments tearing or straining, leaving you with a muscle pull or an outright sprain. In minor cases, you''ll have a hot, achy feeling and limited motion, but in a few weeks it will heal on its own. A larger injury—like a major rip—can mean a lifetime of limited motion. It is the stuff of ruined sports careers.

Obviously, you don''t want this to happen to you. The answer? First and foremost, you need to take steps to strengthen and stretch your key tendons and ligaments. Here''s the program.

Fixing Fingers, Elbows and Wrists

All of your arm joints—from your elbow to the last joint on your little finger—are tough to protect but easy to ruin. Keeping them safe involves a two-tier exercise approach. You do need to build the surrounding muscle, but at the same time you have to be working the joints through range-of-motion exercises—lightweight routines that get the joint used to the activity it will be performing. We''re not talking about weight lifting here. Strengthening your joints is a different animal entirely from strengthening your arm muscles. With the few exceptions listed below, arm-joint exercises should be done with very light weights and high reps (12 to 20). Here are some key ways to make your joint ventures go smoothly, from the elbow down.

Keep arm strength balanced. "If you don''t spend some time pre-training the elbow—making sure the muscles on all sides of it are strong, you can end up getting all sorts of problems, such as tennis elbow or golfer''s elbow," says Dan Hamner, M.D., director of sports medicine and rehabilitation for the New York State Athletic Association and visiting professor of rehabilitation at New York Hospital in New York City. As Dr. Hamner explains, both of these elbow ailments are a result of overused and undertrained muscles and tendons. Microtears in the weak point of a tendon, where it attaches to muscle or bone, cause inflammation and pain.

If you''re not doing so already, spend some time working on your triceps, biceps and forearms. Basic biceps curls and triceps extensions ought to be enough to keep the muscles around your elbow strong and protected. "Just be sure to pay attention to each muscle in equal measure," says Jeffrey Stout, Ph.D., assistant professor of exercise physiology at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.

"Too many men focus on one exercise—biceps curls, for example—and don''t spend any time working the triceps or the forearms," says Dr. Stout. That''s just asking for an elbow injury, because you''re creating a strength imbalance between the muscles, which can weaken the joint. Strive for balance in your workout and you won''t elbow yourself out of the game. Keep these joint-friendly tips in mind, too.

Roll with the blow. Don''t stick your arm out. Learn how to fall. "If you''re cycling or skating, or playing any game where you''re likely to get knocked down, you can train yourself out of the old instinct of sticking your arm straight out to break your fall," says Dr. Hamner. Good idea—breaking your fall that way has caused countless elbow and wrist injuries.

Instead, Dr. Hamner suggests doing somersaults and tumble drills. "Professional cyclists do this a lot: When you go down, instead of sticking your arm out, you tuck your chin into your chest and as you go down, roll over your shoulder. That distributes the impact and minimizes your chance of injury," says Dr. Hamner.

Don''t lock yourself out. When you''re lifting weights, it''s only too tempting to lock your elbows at the apex of the lift, offering your muscles a brief rest. But it''s a rest you''re enjoying at the expense of your elbows. They''re not designed like a deck chair—built to unfold, lock out and bear heavy weights.

"When you''re doing an exercise, lift the weight just until your arms are almost fully extended, then hold it there, with your elbows unlocked, before you bring the weight back," says Dr. Hamner. Not only are you sparing your elbows weight they weren''t meant to carry but you''re also giving your muscles an even tougher workout—which was what you were trying to do when you picked up that weight in the first place.

Get a grip. The wrist is the key to our manual dexterity: It gives us snapping power when we swing a racquet or bat, and it helps us to fulfill the manly function of opening tightly sealed lids and faucets. The secret to keeping your wrists strong, though, lies not in the wrist, but in the hands and forearms. "You can strengthen them—and protect your wrist—by doing basic grip exercises," says Todd Ellenbecker, P.T., clinical director of Physiotherapy Associates Scottsdale Sports Clinic in Arizona and a member of the U.S. Tennis Association''s Sports Science Committee. Use spring-loaded devices, putty or even a tennis ball—try to do at least 10 to 20 squeezes with each hand every day.

Jam it? Tape it. Jammed fingers are among the most common of joint injuries, usually occurring when the bones of an individual finger smash into one another, causing swelling in the joints.

"If you jam a finger, the best thing you can do is to try to keep the joint stabilized by taping it with medical adhesive tape—just wrap it around the jammed finger or knuckle," says Dr. Hamner. Not only does this stabilize the joint but the tape can decrease swelling. Just be careful not to wrap your finger too tightly. If it swells excessively or becomes numb, loosen the tape.

Note: If your finger swells excessively, turns blue and can''t be bent without sharp, excruciating pain, chances are that''s not a jam—that''s a break. Get to a doctor to check alignment, suggests Dr. Hamner.

Pull your finger. Another quick anti-jamming device is to grab the injured finger between your thumb and index finger, then pull gently on it for five seconds, says Dr. Hamner. Rest five seconds, then pull again. This stretches any tissue that was compressed during the injury and helps pull the joint into better alignment.

Elbows

Elbow Stretches

Wrists

Wrist Rolls

A good wrist-protecting exercise is the wrist roll, Dr. Hamner says. You''ll need a wrist roller, which you can find in most gyms—it''s a short dowel or rod with a chain or cord attached in the middle. You attach a weight plate at the bottom of the chain. You could even make one yourself if you have a two-foot long dowel, a short length of chain and Olympic weight plates.

Stand upright, feet shoulder-width apart, holding the roller in both hands, palms down, with your arms extended in front of you. The weight should be dangling in front of you.

Now slowly roll the weight up with your wrists. Use long, exaggerated up-and-down movements with your wrists to get their full range of motion. Keep the rest of your body stationary—don''t sway your body or drop your arms. When the weight has reached the top, slowly lower it using the same motion. Do 10 to 12 reps.

Wrist Raises

Physical trainers call this lift radial deviation, since it''s working the muscles and tendons around the radius bone of your forearm—all major supporters of your wrist. Ellenbecker says this exercise is a great toner and wrist trainer. He calls it a prehabilitation exercise—a routine that will keep the wrist from getting hurt when you really work it out.

Stand with your right arm at your side, grasping a hammer or a dumbbell with a weight on one end only—that weight should be in front of your hand. Hold the weight so your thumb is pointing straight ahead of you.

Slowly raise and lower the weight through a comfortable range of motion. Don''t move your elbow or shoulder—all movement should occur at the wrist. Do 10 to 12 reps, then switch hands.

Reverse Wrist Raises

Also known as ulnar deviation, this prehab exercise works the muscles and tendons around the ulna, the forearm bone right next to the radial bone. Therefore, it strengthens the other side of your wrist.

Stand with your right arm at your side, holding the same weight you used for the wrist raise—only now the weighted end should be behind your hand. Your thumb should still be pointing forward.

Now slowly raise and lower the weight, using only your wrist. Again, don''t move your elbow or shoulder. Do 10 to 12 reps, then switch hands.