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MuscleForearm & handsuperficialBeyond Cert IVDraft

Flexor carpi radialisMusculus flexor carpi radialis

Superficial forearm muscle that runs from the medial epicondyle to the index and middle finger metacarpals, bending the wrist and tilting it towards the thumb.

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LatinMusculus flexor carpi radialis
Origin
  • Medial epicondyle of the humerus (common flexor tendon)
Insertion
  • Front (palmar) surface of the bases of the 2nd and 3rd metacarpals
Action
  • Flexes the wrist
  • Abducts the wrist (radial deviation, tilting the hand towards the thumb)
  • Weakly assists pronation and elbow flexion
NerveMedian nerve (C6–C7)
GroupWrist flexors
NameLatin: the 'bender of the wrist (carpus) on the radius side'.

Palpation

  1. Client supine with the forearm palm up and relaxed.
  2. Ask the client to bend the wrist slightly towards the thumb side against light resistance.
  3. At the wrist crease, find the prominent tendon just on the thumb side of palmaris longus (or of the midline, if palmaris longus is absent).
  4. Follow the tendon up the forearm on a diagonal towards the medial epicondyle; the belly lies just on the inner side of pronator teres.

Landmarks: Medial epicondyle of humerus

Flexor carpi radialis is the most obvious tendon at the front of the wrist when the client flexes against resistance. It is the thumb-side member of the Wrist flexors. Its belly sits between Pronator teres and Palmaris longus in the upper forearm, so Stripping from the wrist up to the Medial epicondyle of humerus follows it well.

The radial pulse lies just on the thumb side of the FCR tendon at the wrist. Keep pressure light there and move off if you feel a pulse under your fingers.

It works with Extensor carpi radialis longus to tilt the hand towards the thumb, and against Extensor carpi ulnaris. Wikipedia gives roots C6–C7; Gray’s (1918) says “primarily from the sixth cervical nerve”.

Techniques

  • Petrissage — Kneading strokes that compress, lift and squeeze the muscle away from the bone, working the tissue between the hands.
  • Stripping — A slow, deep, narrow glide along the length of a single muscle with the thumb, knuckle or elbow, pausing over tight bands on the way.
  • Cross-fibre friction — Deep, specific friction applied back and forth across the direction of a tendon, ligament or muscle's fibres, with the fingers and skin moving together as one.
  • Trigger point pressure release — Sustained thumb or finger pressure on a tender spot within a taut band of muscle, held until the client reports the discomfort easing, then slowly released.
  • Passive stretching — The therapist gently moves a relaxed limb to lengthen a muscle to a point of mild stretch and holds it there, with no effort from the client.

Works with

  • Palmaris longus — Small, slender forearm muscle with a long tendon that tightens the fascia of the palm and weakly bends the wrist; missing in some people.
  • Flexor carpi ulnaris — Superficial muscle along the inner (little-finger) border of the forearm that bends the wrist and tilts it towards the little finger.
  • Extensor carpi radialis longus — Outer forearm muscle running from above the lateral epicondyle to the index finger metacarpal, extending the wrist and tilting it towards the thumb.

Opposes

  • Extensor carpi ulnaris — Long muscle on the back of the forearm next to the ulna that extends the wrist and tilts it towards the little finger.

Same group

  • Flexor carpi ulnaris — Superficial muscle along the inner (little-finger) border of the forearm that bends the wrist and tilts it towards the little finger.
  • Flexor digitorum profundus — Deep forearm muscle lying on the ulna that bends the fingertips and is the only muscle able to flex the end joints of the four fingers.
  • Flexor digitorum superficialis — Large middle-layer forearm muscle that bends the four fingers at their middle joints and helps bend the knuckles and wrist.
  • Palmaris longus — Small, slender forearm muscle with a long tendon that tightens the fascia of the palm and weakly bends the wrist; missing in some people.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia: Flexor carpi radialis muscle
  2. Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body (1918), Myology 7e: The Muscles and Fasciae of the Forearm (Public domain. Used for secondary actions and nerve root levels.)