The bottom line
Gabe got back to bench pressing with occupational therapy at Thrive Spine & Sports Rehab in Belmar, NJ, after hyperextending his elbow wrestling and reinjuring it again and again. His care with Dan Van Clef paired Winback, high-frequency radio waves that increase blood flow, with exercises to strengthen the muscles around an elbow still healing from ligament and tendon damage.
- Gabe
- Jackson wrestler
- Elbow
- Hyperextended
- Last setback
- Shoveling
- Now
- Bench pressing
An elbow that went the wrong way
Gabe's sports injury happened on the wrestling mat. A wrestler from Jackson, he posted his arm on a mat return and his elbow went the completely wrong way, bending backward past straight. The hyperextension left him with ligament and tendon damage he was still dealing with months later, after he had already been through PRP (platelet-rich plasma) treatment.
Blood flow first, then strength
His occupational therapy with Dan Van Clef, one of our occupational therapists in Belmar, focused on strengthening the muscles around the elbow. Each session started with Winback, a machine that sends high-frequency radio waves into the tissue to increase blood flow, which helps recovery. A grounding handle in Gabe's hand gave the waves a direction, focusing them on his arm instead of dispersing them through his body, and he felt a buzzing warmth through his whole arm. Then came the strength work, with resistance bands and a grip ball.
Back to the bench press
An injury that keeps coming back doesn't mean starting over. Gabe kept reinjuring his elbow, most recently while shoveling, and each time he came in with a fresh bruise and the joint all blown up. We picked up from there every time, and it came a long way: he got back to bench presses and tricep pulldowns.
Key takeaways
- Gabe, a wrestler from Jackson, NJ, got back to bench pressing with occupational therapy at Thrive Spine & Sports Rehab in Belmar after hyperextending his elbow on the mat.
- Gabe's hyperextended elbow left him with ligament and tendon damage. He had already been through PRP when his occupational therapy at Thrive in Belmar, NJ focused on strengthening the muscles around the joint.
- Before exercise, Gabe's occupational therapy at Thrive in Belmar, NJ used Winback, high-frequency radio waves that increase blood flow to help recovery, focused on his arm with a grounding handle.
- Gabe kept reinjuring his hyperextended elbow, most recently while shoveling, but with occupational therapy with Dan Van Clef in Belmar, NJ, he got back to bench presses and tricep pulldowns.
