ASK A PHYSIO
ARM & WRIST
I tweaked my biceps femoris last night playing baseball. How many times a day should I do dynamic release with a ball?
With an acute injury giving the area some time to heal before doing self massage with a ball may be beneficial, the length of time depends on the extent of the injury.
Again, depending on the extent of the injury you could roll out the muscle with a tennis or lacrosse ball 1-2 times a day starting with approximately 5 minutes each session. You could start with gentle self massage in the evening for 5 minutes. If you feel better the next day you could repeat in the morning and evening going forward.
Stop if you experience increased pain, redness or swelling after self massage.
My dad has broken his humorous and I believe there is a piece of bone floating round additionally. The doctor gave him a sling and said they wouldn’t plaster it, I believe this is normal. He went to see the physiotherapist 3 weeks later. She told him to rotate his wrist and shoulder and practise pushing his arm up the wall and told him there was no exercise he shouldn’t be doing. That he couldn’t really hurt it. The problem is he’s in a lot of pain doing the exercises and he doesn’t know if it’s normal and if he should continue. The wrist shoulder rotations are fine but the pushing/lifting/twisting stuff is really painful. He’s now 5 weeks post break. Is there anything he should/shouldn’t be doing?
I am sorry to hear about your dad’s injury. Without assessment or reviewing the imaging I would say that 3 weeks after a fracture is a short amount of time to be doing any exercises that cause pain. Bone takes between 6 and 12 weeks to fully heal, depending on many things.
I would recommend that he avoid exercises that cause pain, but to continue to work within his pain-free range of motion in order to maintain his ability to move his shoulder. I would also suggest that you bring the prescribed exercises to your dads doctor/surgeon to make sure they are in line with the treatment plan, prior to proceeding with them. It’s worth noting that to regain full range of motion after a period of immobility can be uncomfortable. However, pushing through this type of pain usually occurs well after an injury has been given an opportunity to heal properly. Best of luck in his recovery.
Give us a call at North Shore Sports Medicine to book an appointment with a physiotherapist to work towards regaining full movement and function in your dad’s shoulder and wrist (604) 973-0242
Hi, i am a 14 yr old skateboarder and i am skating for about 6 yrs. Last year i fell on my wrist when jumping a gap. I still have wrist pain when doing push ups or just doing circles with wrist. Everybody told me to swim, but i think it won’t help because it hurts when i swim too. I don’t want to quit skateboarding. Can you help me, what should i do. Thank you
Both soft tissue and boney injuries should heal within 6-8 weeks of an injury. If you are still experiencing pain a year later it is worth getting a bit of help to sort it out.
You want that wrist feeling as good as possible as you have a long life of fun and adventure including skateboarding!) ahead of you. That part is ok. The other 2 things are maybe not as good. Most likely he has damaged the cartilage in his wrist so he needs to get it properly assessed and treated.
Anything lasting that long in a 14 year old is in need of professional attention. I would not say much more than that as stretching a torn cartilage might damage it further…
