TFCC Tear / Repair Stretches & Exercises (Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex) - Ask Doctor Jo

TFCC Tear / Repair Stretches & Exercises (Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex): http://www.AskDoctorJo.com If you have a TFCC injury, tear, or have had repair surgery in this area at your wrist on the ulnar side, these some simple exercises and stretches should help. For more physical therapy videos or to see a blog post about this video, visit http://www.askdoctorjo.com/content/tfcc-tear-repair-stretches-exercises-triangular-fibrocartilage-complex

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First start with stretching your wrist. Go gently first, bend your wrist down into flexion. Then bend your wrist up into extension. Then you can turn your hand with the thumb up, and bend up and down into wrist radial and ulnar deviation. Do this 10 times each way. You can use your other hand for some overpressure if you need more of a stretch. Hold each for 30 seconds and do 3 each way.

The next range of motion exercises are for supination and pronation. Bend your elbow to 90 degrees, and keep it by your side so you are getting the movement only at your wrist and elbow. Turn your wrist palm up for supination and palm down for pronation. If you need a little overpressure, you can use a hammer. The heavy end will help your wrist rotate further.

For the strengthening you can use a can of soup or vegetables, but we will use a resistive band today. Hold the band and bend your wrist up and down, first with your palm down and then up (extension and flexion), then turn your wrist so your thumb is facing up, and go up and down (radial deviation). Try 10 each way, and then work your way up as you get stronger. If you get to 20-25 easily, you can get a stronger band.

Finally, you can roll up a towel and squeeze it in your hand. Hold the squeeze for about 3 seconds and do it 10 times. If that gets easy, you can use a tennis ball.

DISCLAIMER: This video and any related comments are not medical advice. Doctor Jo is a licensed Physical Therapist and Doctor of Physical Therapy; however, she is not YOUR Physical Therapist and can't possibly diagnose you through the Internet. So don't use this information to avoid going to your own healthcare professional or to replace the advice they have given you. This information is only intended to show you the correct technique for physical therapy exercises and should not be used to self-diagnose or self-treat any medical condition. If you are not properly diagnosed, this information won't help, and it could make things worse. So seriously, check with your healthcare professional before doing these techniques. If you experience any pain or difficulty while doing these exercises, stop immediately and see your healthcare professional.