Do you have elbow pain when you try to fully extend your arm? Been there. It can be common in weightlifters, Jiujitsu athletes, and even after a fall. These kinds of acute or overuse injuries are more common than you think. It’s been a few weeks, why are you still having pain? Scar tissue, adhesions, and tight muscles that build up over time are the likely culprits. Luckily, there are ways to loosen up and get that elbow moving again. If you’re ready to break free from the pain, this article is for you! Here are 3 tools to help you improve your range of motion, reduce pain, and finally kick those adhesions to the curb.
1. Cupping Therapy
Cupping, when done properly, can be a game-changer. No, it doesn’t have to be some strange ancient ritual. It can be modern and effective—especially with the Achedaway Cupper. This gadget combines dynamic suction, red light therapy, and massage modes to work wonders on your elbow.
How to Use Cupping for Elbow Pain: Pop the cup onto your tricep (or wherever you feel tightness). Let it sit for a few minutes to work its magic. Then, bend and straighten your elbow while the cup’s in place. This creates an active release effect that breaks up those stubborn adhesions and gets the blood flowing. You’ll love how it feels! Plus, with the built in timer you can use the cup for up to 14 minutes, so take your time.
Don’t put your settings too high right off the bat! Make sure you’re gradually upping the intensity so you don’t over do it.
2. Muscle Floss
Muscle flossing is one of our favorite techniques that not a lot of people are talking about. The idea? Using a special band (our favorite is Rock Tape’s Rock Floss) to wrap around your problem area to help break up adhesions while also restricting blood flow to the area. Trust us you want that!
How to Muscle Floss: Wrap the band above and below your elbow, leaving a gap at the joint. Then, move your arm—bend, straighten, and stretch! The tension from the band, combined with movement, helps break up adhesions and scar tissue. When you take off the band you’ll feel a rush of warmth heading back to the area. Fresh blood is filling the area which will help expedite healing. It can be weird at first, but trust us its good!
Pro Tip: Keep the band on for 60-90 seconds, no more. You may see some discoloration or feel tingling in your fingers—that’s normal and means it’s working. Just don’t overdo it!
Fun Fact!! The elbow has more limited blood flow than other areas of the body. That is why muscle flossing can make big differences as you impact blood flow by restricting and then flushing with clean fresh blood
3. Muscle Scraping
Muscle scraping helps break up scar tissue, but don’t just scrape where it hurts. Hit the whole area—biceps, triceps, forearms, and elbow.
How to Scrape Effectively: Grab your muscle scraper – if you’re in the market we highly recommend Sidekick Muscle scrapers. In 2 inch strokes, scrape over the muscle tissue, avoiding bones (ouch!). As you scrape, bend and straighten your elbow. This dynamic movement helps loosen things up and improves mobility. You can do this for 2-4 minutes depending on the size of your arm and tolerance.
Don’t Forget Dynamic Movement!
This is the big secret: dynamic movement. A lot of people skip this step, but it’s the key to real progress. Cupping, muscle flossing, and scraping work wonders, but you’ve got to move your arm while doing them. The motion helps release tissue restrictions and improves range of motion. So, bend, straighten, supinate, and pronate to get that elbow moving!
How to Use These Tools for Elbow Pain Relief
Want results? Stick to these techniques daily for 10-15 minutes. Challenge your range of motion, but don’t push too hard. You’ll see noticeable improvements in 2-4 weeks. Be patient, and keep at it. Consistency is what will get you there! Feel free to use any combination of these. You can use one method or all 3 if you have the tools.
- Cupping: 10-14 minutes of dynamic cupping.
- Muscle Flossing: 60-90 seconds, moving as you go.
- Muscle Scraping: 5-10 minutes, dynamic movement included.
Elbow Pain, Begone!
Don’t fall victim to the trap of just strengthening. We see people come in all the time confused about why their problem isn’t getting better after only focusing on strength. Sometimes your arm is presenting weak because you don’t have the correct range of motion to support your muscle strength! Don’t get us wrong, strength is a really important aspect… but you need the proper range of motion first!
Elbow pain from overuse or an injury doesn’t have to hang around forever. With the right tools and a bit of consistency, you can say goodbye to that pesky stiffness and get your range of motion back. Whether you choose cupping, muscle flossing, or muscle scraping—or all three—your elbow will thank you. Get started now, and in a few weeks, you’ll feel better than ever!
Some of the links in this blog are affiliate links and will give us a small portion of earnings if you decide to purchase. If you’d prefer not to use them, no problem! We still strongly recommend checking out all of the tools we talked about.
MDRx - More Than Just For Injuries
You don’t need to be injured to use an MDRx program. We offer preventative maintenance full body mobility programs for some of our favorite sports!! Check them out below:
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