UKC

Hey. Last Friday I dislocated and fractured my elbow. A week before I go to font is not ideal. I guess I won't be climbing for about 6 to 8 weeks. Although my left arm is in a cast my right arm is still healthy. I was wondering what excercises anyone can recommend to keep strength in my right arm and back. I've scanned the Internet but can only really find exercises that needs both arms. I've looked at resistance bands but can't see any climbing specific exercises. Would be extremely grateful if anyone can help!

In reply to Yorkshiregirl:

Hey i'm sorry to hear that! I can't recommend anything unluckly. One thing i can tell you is to not do too much with just one part. unbalance in your muscles is the main cause of tendon injury! But it's also right to not stay at total rest...find the right amount of exercises maybe on internet maybe on books. As an example avoid one arm pull ups!

In reply to Yorkshiregirl:
Youch!! Painful.

I dislocated my left elbow though it wasn't fractured. I did that in Germany and it was put in a cast. When I came back to the UK they said it better off without the cast and removed it straightaway. I still lost some mobility in my elbow. I can't bend it as far as my other arm and it's subsequently less good at locking off now. It's not a huge difference but noticeable to me and as I climber I'd have preferred to have the same range of movement as the other arm.

So the first thing I would say is try to get your arm moving as soon as possible after the cast is removed. Maybe see if you can get the cast removed early if possible - though I guess that depends on the fracture. For the dislocation part I was told there was no need for a cast at all. My arm could have just been put in a sling the whole time and I probably wouldn't have lost that mobility.

In terms of staying strong there is a theory that the body tries to keep some balance so that by training one side you'll also be helping the other side too.

For exercise anything that is done with a dumbell can be done on one side only: curls, rows, tricep extensions, overhead press and much much more. Also most training with a cable machine (or pulley) can be done one handed. And some exercises with rings (or rather ring) or fixed TRX.

If you're using a bar even though you can't do pull ups there might still be some stuff you can do. You could do one arm lock offs - and if not strong enough then with some assistance like a pulley and weight or theraband attached to a harness to remove some weight. You could also do the negative part of a one arm pull up with assistance too - or even just part of the movement at first.

Same thing with a fingerboard: pulleys or theraband to reduce the resistance to a manageable amount.

There should also be a fair amount of core exercises you can still do, particularly floor based stuff: leg raises, hollow body, windshield wipers, v - ups etc.

Try to maintain your body weight while your waiting for your arm to heal. If you lose weight it will be the muscle that's not getting used that goes first. But ultimately you will lose some strength of course and there's no way round it. Start climbing again as soon as you can but go really gently at first - almost any exercise will make your arm stronger. Build up slowly and enjoy the process.

In reply to Yorkshiregirl:

You're right that most climbing specific training unfortunately needs two working arms so you haven't got many options.

I would say maintaining finger strength would be the top priority. Using a fingerboard with feet on a chair would do this. Or static one armed locks on a bouldering wall would do it as well. Reduce foothold size to increase the load. Very boring but it will keep your uninjured arm strong.

As mentioned above there is strong evidence that improving strength in one limb will also have an effect on the opposite side through central nervous system changes; brain training.

In reply to Yorkshiregirl:

Hi, personally I wouldn't worry about it too much. 6-8 weeks is not that long. It will be the careful rehabilitation of the damaged elbow which will be the limiting factor in your future climbing. The last thing you want to do when you get out of a cast is give yourself another injury by being too uneven in strength. Speaking from experience not as a medical professional!

Suggestions based on recovering from my own (non-dislocation) olecranon fracture . . .

* get the cast removed on the very first day permitted by the medical professional supervising your recovery.

* choose a medical professional to supervise your recovery (including authorizing payment for supervision and equipment for exercises) who is very experienced with rehabilitation. Hint: Most _surgeons_ are not well-suited for supervising rehabilitation. It's just a different mindset from what's important for succeeding as a surgeon.

* the critical limiter on your future climbing is not your good arm but your injured arm. The rate of atrophy of muscles in your muscles in injured arm -- and associated fingers and shoulders -- is astonishing.
So really key is to get creative about finding ways to enable the "non-elbow" articulations with their muscles + tendons to get training exercise / stress ...
even while the cast is still on.

For fingers, might need to have a partner to allow you press individual _fingers_ against resistance.
Likewise to allow you press your shoulder and upper arm in various directions against resistance applied by the partner.

Ken

In reply to Yorkshiregirl:
Hi. I had a fracture/dislocated fracture plus radial compression on my dominant arm/elbow. Don't worry about exercising one arm only (not worth the risk ). Wait unti plaster comes off and go see a good sports physio. You'll soon pick up arm strength as you work both group sets together. Enjoy the enforced rest.i have ended up with reduced movement but strength has not been affected but locking out can cause discomfort after prolonged use.