Tendinitis is a condition that affects the tendons in the body. Tendons are responsible for connecting muscle to bone and are often hurt during exercise or intense manual labor. If tendinitis treatment is not sought soon after an injury, the tendons become severely inflamed, and pain will increase. After resting your forearm tendinitis injury, start a simple exercise program to regain strength and range of motion.
Extension and Flexion
Sit in a chair with a table on the side of your body with the forearm tendinitis. Rest your arm on the table so that your hand extends over the edge of the table. Place a small weight in your hand--a can of soup or a roll of quarters works well. Begin with your palm facing down and raise your hand up so that the top of your hand is curling back toward your arm. Complete 20 repetitions, then repeat, starting with your palm facing up and curling in, similar to a bicep curl motion.
Supination and Pronation
Set up your chair and table again, placing your forearm on the table and allowing your hand to extend over the edge. Make a fist with your hand with your thumb pointing up, similar to a thumbs-up gesture. Place a weight in your hand, then rotate your wrist from left to right slowly. Complete 20 repetitions, then repeat, starting with your thumb pointing straight out and raising your fist back toward your arm.
Stretching
Stretching is an important part of any tendinitis therapy. Hold your arm out in front of you and allow your hand to rest facing down. Grab your fingers with your other hand and pull toward you. You should feel a stretch on the top of your forearm. Stretch for 20 seconds, then repeat with fingers pointed up and pulled back. You should feel the bottom of your forearm stretch with the second technique.
Compression
Compressing something with your hand uses the muscles and tendons in your forearm. Find a rubber ball, stress ball or even a small bag of rice to compress with your hand. Rest your arm on a table or on your lap and squeeze the object 20 times before resting. As your arm feels better, you can squeeze the object harder, or for more repetitions. The key is to strengthen your forearm without stressing it and exacerbating the condition.
Considerations
Tendinitis injuries are very serious. If not treated correctly, they can lead to severe chronic pain and flexibility problems. You should always rest your forearm if you think you may have tendinitis. Combine rest with ice, elevation and compression to reduce swelling and aid healing. When beginning an exercise program, ease into the program slowly. Start with small weights and low repetitions to avoid inflaming the tendinitis and causing more problems. Severe tendinitis injuries often require surgery. Avoid tendinitis injuries by always warming up, stretching and exercising within your limits.
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