Video Transcript: Nerve Glide for Treating Thumb, Wrist, and Elbow Pain

Hi, everyone! Dr. Orit Hickman here from Pain Science Physical Therapy. I wanted to put together a really quick video to show you one of my most favorite exercises for patients that are having thumb pain, wrist pain, or even elbow pain that’s on the outside of the elbow. And, this is pain that can be caused typically by irritation of the median nerve. It’s the nerve that gets irritated when people have carpal tunnel syndrome.

So, nerve glides are exercises that allow nerves to move. Nerves really like blood flow. They really like movement. They really like to have a lot of space. And so, if you’re having irritation in any of those areas, this exercise might help.

So, with this exercise, what you’re going to do is you’re going to start with your hand in this position. So your elbow is actually bent and your wrist is extended. So, your hand is up as if you were holding a cup. And, you’re going to start in this position. Then, you’re going to straighten the elbow, and you’re going to bend the wrist at the same time. So, all the time, if you were balancing a cup in your hand or a ball, you would keep that upright. And, you’re just going to do about five to ten repetitions. And, this is called a nerve glide for the median nerve. And, I would recommend that you do this, you know, as many times a day as you feel comfortable, so three to five times a day.

It should continue to help symptoms. If you find that it’s irritating sometimes, then definitely stop. Don’t continue to do it. You may not have irritation of the median nerve, but if it helps, continue. And, over time, you should feel like your pain gets less and less and less.

Give it a try. Let me know how it goes. I’d love a thumbs-up if you like this video. Do me a favor and subscribe if you want to get more videos [for] learning more about pain and physical therapy and what we can do to help you when you’re experiencing pain, especially persistent pain. And, have a great day!