Ulnar Nerve Glides
A sequence that slides the ulnar nerve through the elbow rather than stretching it.
What it helps
Encourages the ulnar nerve to slide freely through the elbow rather than tethering in scar tissue after surgery. A nerve that glides is a nerve that stops being irritated by ordinary elbow movement.
How to do it
- Start with the arm down by your side, palm facing forward.
- Bend the elbow and bring the hand up toward your face, turning the palm toward you.
- Make a circle with your thumb and index finger and bring it around your eye, like holding a monocle, keeping the elbow lifted out to the side.
- Hold briefly, then reverse the sequence smoothly back to the starting position.
Tips
- This is a glide, not a stretch. Move in and out of the position smoothly rather than holding at the end and pulling.
- A little tingling during the movement is expected. Tingling that lingers afterwards means you went too far — do less next time.
- Little and often is the rule. A few repetitions several times a day beats one long session.
Commonly done as 2–3 sets of 5–10, several times daily.
Where this appears in recovery
Ulnar Nerve Glides is part of 6 recovery programs, most often at the wound & nerve glides (weeks 0–2), restoring motion (weeks 2–6) and nerve recovery (months 3–18) stages, among others. Each program shows how it fits alongside the other movements:
All exercise guides · Condition guides · Recovery education
These are general exercise guides, not a personal prescription. The repetitions and frequency shown are what's commonly used — your own surgeon or therapist may advise something different, and their guidance comes first.