Scapholunate Exercises Level 3 – Muscle Training Concentric

Aim

The exercises on this sheet are designed to improve strength and decrease tension on the scapholunate ligament which is an important ligament in wrist stability.

General advice

These exercises should only be completed once a formal diagnosis from a health professional has been received and with guidance from your Hand Therapist. Do not carry out these exercises unless instructed to do so.

It can be ‘normal’ to feel some aching when you first start exercising, but these symptoms should settle quite quickly. If you feel the exercises are causing you intense and lasting pain (eg: for more than 30 minutes), change the exercise by making the movement smaller, doing it less often and let your therapist know next time.

Instructions

You should work through the exercises in a slow and controlled manner.

Your therapist will advise you on how often to complete these exercises.

Exercise 1

• Grasp the band with the wrist as shown in the image, with the palm facing the floor.
• Control the movement of the wrist up and tilted towards the thumb against the band.
• Remove the resistance of the band to bring the wrist back down to reset and repeat the movement.

Times a day:                      Reps:

Exercise 2

• Grasp the band as shown in the photo, with the palm facing the ceiling.
• Control the movement of the wrist up towards you and tilted toward the thumb against the band.
• Bring the wrist back down without resistance of the band to reset and repeat the movement.

Times a day:                      Reps:

Exercise 3

• Place the band around the thumb as shown in the photo to start.
• Control the movement of the thumb away from the fingers against the band.
• Remove the resistance of the band and bring the thumb towards from the fingers to reset and repeat the movement.

Times a day:                      Reps:

Exercise 4

• With the elbow on the table, grasp a weight.
• Move the wrist through the dart throwers motion, bringing the wrist down towards the little finger and back toward the thumb.
• Control the movement of the wrist both ways.

Times a day:                      Reps:

Contact numbers

We hope that you have found this information useful. If you have any questions, you can contact the Hand Therapy Department on 01305 255931.

About this leaflet

Author: Felicity Tucker
Written: January 2026
Approved: January 2026
Review date: January 2029
Edition: v1

If you have feedback regarding the accuracy of the information contained in this leaflet, or if you would like a list of references used to develop this leaflet, please email patientinformation.leaflets@dchft.nhs.uk