EXERCISES FOR TENNIS ELBOW

Do you suffer from pain in the elbow? Do you feel pain when holding a cup or a mug? Does using the mouse cause pain in your elbow or does your work involve repetitive movements that cause you pain? If so, you might be suffering from tennis elbow, or lateral epicondylalgia as it is known medically. This is a condition that causes pain and discomfort in the arm and elbow. If left unchecked, tennis elbow can greatly affect activities of daily living such as work, sport and even rudimental day-to-day tasks.Fortunately, there are many ways to treat tennis elbow, including physiotherapy. Physiotherapy can help to relieve pain and improve function in the arm and elbow. If you're suffering from tennis elbow, don't hesitate to seek out the help of a physiotherapist. They can help you get back to your everyday activities as quickly as possible.

Pain from tennis elbow can severely impact your life

WHAT IS TENNIS ELBOW?
Pain in the elbow occurs due to repetitive movements of the wrist. This is because the tendons that control the wrist attach into the outer portion of the elbow. Imagine a rope that is stretched repetitively everyday. Naturally fraying the rope would occur due to the continuous stress applied to the rope. This exact process occurs in the tendons and eventually they start to undergo destructive change.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF TENNIS ELBOW?
There are a few symptoms to look out for with tennis elbow:

• Pain on the outside portion of the elbow
• Pain may refer down the forearm into the hand
• Weakness associated with pain can develop
• Turning the steering wheel, door handles or pouring fluids from a jug may all cause pain
• Loss of grip as well as pain while holding cups or saucepans

Pain can be felt on the outside of the elbow

ARE THERE RISK FACTORS FOR TENNIS ELBOW?
This condition is not confined to only tennis, as the name would suggest. Any activity that involves repetitive use of the hands can potentially cause tennis elbow. Below are examples:

• Undoing and doing up bolts and screws
• Painting
• Repetitive chopping or cutting in the kitchen
• Repetitive and prolonged mouse and keyboard use

WHAT STRATEGIES CAN I USE TO MANAGE MY SYMPTOMS?
Several strategies can be employed in the home setting to manage symptoms.

• Rest and Stretch: Plain and simple, one of the best ways to reduce repetitive overuse of the tendons is to remove the negative stimulus. This involves resting from the aggravating activity and doing stretches.
  
  

  A simple wrist stretch to promote tendon movement

• Ice Therapy: Usually tennis elbow does not have swelling, but the use of ice can ease pain felt locally at the elbow.
• Pain Relief: Management of pain in the short-term can be done effectively with painkillers. It is important here to not use them to mask pain so that continuation of the activity can be achieved.
• Technique Modification: The aggravating activity sometimes cannot be stopped. In this case, modification of the activity must be done in order to continue. This is especially important in the prevention of future recurrences.

HOW CAN PHYSIOPHI HELP MY TENNIS ELBOW?
The following is a few examples of what we can provide to effectively manage your tennis elbow pain.

• Tailored exercises that aim to strengthen the affected tendons and prevent future recurrences.
• Massage therapy to release the muscles that are putting excessive tension into the tendons.
• Dry needling to promote healing of the affected tendons regardless of old or fresh the injury is.
  
  

  Dry needling of the forearm can be extremely effective

• Advice and education on technique modification to allow continuation of daily activities, work and sport.

LET US HELP YOU WITH YOUR TENNIS ELBOW
No injury is worth putting up with, especially not tennis elbow. Our daily lives involve a myriad of activities that require our hands and arms. If there is no improvement to your tennis elbow and you are finding worsening symptoms or degradation of your necessary activities, book an appointment to see us as soon as possible. At Physiophi we have a firm belief that injuries like tennis elbow should be amended quickly so that you can return to being pain-free.

DISCLAIMER
PLEASE CONTACT US ON: (07) 3172 4332 TO HAVE A CHAT WITH OUR FRIENDLY STAFF OR SIMPLY BOOK ONLINE ON: WWW.PHYSIOPHI.COM.AU

REFERENCES

1. Bisset, L. M., & Vicenzino, B. (2015). Physiotherapy management of lateral epicondylalgia. J Physiother, 61(4), 174-181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphys.2015.07.015
2. Karanasios, S., Tsamasiotis, G. K., Michopoulos, K., Sakellari, V., &Gioftsos, G. (2021). Clinical effectiveness of shockwave therapy in lateral elbow tendinopathy: systematic review and meta-analysis. Clin Rehabil, 2692155211006860. https://doi.org/10.1177/02692155211006860
3. Landesa-Martínez, L., &Leirós-Rodríguez, R. (2021). Physiotherapy treatment of lateral epicondylitis: A systematic review. J Back MusculoskeletRehabil. https://doi.org/10.3233/BMR-210053
4. Luk, J. K., Tsang, R. C., & Leung, H. B. (2014). Lateral epicondylalgia: midlife crisis of a tendon. Hong Kong Med J, 20(2), 145-151. https://doi.org/10.12809/hkmj134110
5. Yoon, S. Y., Kim, Y. W., Shin, I. S., Kang, S., Moon, H. I., & Lee, S. C. (2021). The Beneficial Effects of Eccentric Exercise in the Management of Lateral Elbow Tendinopathy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. J Clin Med, 10(17). https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10173968