An arm fracture is a common injury that is most often associated with pain that increases with any movement of the affected bone and the loss of normal use of the arm. Treatment includes splinting the arm to immobilize it for a couple of weeks to allow your bone to heal. Once your bone has begun to heal, your doctor may prescribe exercises to help restore strength, mobility and normal function to your arm.
Pronation/Supination
This exercise can be performed while seated or standing. Begin by sticking out your arm as if you were going to shake hands and turn your palm up. Hold this position for a second and then slowly rotate your hand until your palm is facing down. You may feel a stretch in your forearm during this motion. Hold this position for about five seconds and then rotate your arm until your palm is once again facing up. Repeat 10 times.
Wall Walking
Stand close enough to a wall that you can reach out with your arm and touch it with your fingers. Begin using your fingers to "walk" your hand up the wall. Be sure you go as far up the wall as you can without experiencing serious pain. When you have gone as far up the wall as you can without pain, return to the starting position by "walking" back down the wall until your hand is a little lower than chest height.
Internal Rotation
Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and touch your affected arm to your hip. Hold this position for several seconds and then reach behind your body as far as you can and touch your back. Hold this position for several seconds and return to the starting position with your hand on your hip. Continue performing this exercise until you can reach behind your body far enough to touch the small of your back along your spine.
Arm Curls
Only perform this exercise if your doctor has told you you're healthy enough for it. Stand or sit and hold a light dumbbell in your affected hand with your palm facing the ceiling. Bend your elbow and lift the weight toward your shoulder while being sure that your shoulders stay directly over your hips. Lift the weight as far as possible and hold this position for a couple of seconds. Use a slow and controlled motion to gently lower the weight to the starting position. Repeat 10 times.
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