What Is Tennis Elbow & How To Fix It?
There is only one blog to write this weekend with Wimbledon underway as we approach the rest day on Sunday, of course it’s tennis elbow.
Unfortunately, at the time of writing this, Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu have been knocked out. However, we have faith in Norrie.
What is tennis elbow?
This is a condition of the elbow where the tendons on the outside of the elbow have been overused. It’s very common in people who do lots of physical labour or people who have been doing repetitive exercise with the forearm.
This can come with painting, writing or using DIY tools. It’s defined as an inflammation of the extensor carpi radialis bundle, and this comes from the outside of the elbow just off the outer edge of the radius and bottom of humerus. It’s not to be confused with golfer’s elbow which is an inflammation of the flexor tendons on the inner side of the elbow.
It can be diagnosed if you pull your wrist back and you’re finding that it’s painful or putting your middle finger out and then pushing your middle finger up against your other hand, causing pain. This is very typical of a tennis elbow.
Simply, it is an inflammation of the common extensor origin, and it needs rest in order to allow it to heal. It is not limited to people that play tennis and happens who do lots of physical labour, twisting movements of the wrist or even just picking up kids. It’s important that you manage it accordingly.
The tendon gets overused. It gets hot and inflamed and it needs to relax. One of the best ways to relax the tendon is by putting ice on it and then stretching the tendon in a reverse way by bending the forearm backwards. Check this video out here. You can also use the spoon technique to rub the over the elbow will help to minimise all inflammation.
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How To Prevent It From Coming Back
In the future you can use a tennis elbow strap. It will help put pressure on the tendon and reduce the impact on the tendon. This helps when doing physical activity, playing tennis or doing DIY, but you will find that if the tendon is overused long term it can become chronic and can start changing the physiology of the tendon. This is more serious and may require medical intervention with guided injection to get the inflammation under control. Don’t allow it to get that far.
Taking an anti-inflammatory can also help and taking omega-3s can bring inflammation down as well.
If you are suffering for longer than this, then please let us know. In the clinic here, we use lots of techniques. We adjust the elbows as Chiropractors to bring proper functioning back into the elbow and allow the tendons to relax. We use dry needling. Shockwave therapy is amazing for tennis elbow tendon injuries plus lots of massage and soft tissue techniques in order to bring the blood flow back into the area.
Offer: Book a free consultation with West Chiropractic >
