How to treat tennis elbow

By Nicole Harran

Lateral epicondylitis – known as tennis elbow is pain that occurs on the outside of the forearm near the elbow. This is a common injury which occurs when the tendons in the elbow are overloaded which causes straining and inflammation. Repetitive incorrect biomechanical movements often lead to the overloading within the elbow.

Exercises to help prevent tennis elbow:

• Stress ball squeezes

• Weighted wrist rolls – find an appropriate weight and tie it to a bar of some sort. Holding the arms out, slowly roll the weight up and down.

• Finger web extensions – placing the fingers in the web, separate the fingers and slowly return to starting position.

Treatment exercises:

• Wrist lift with palm up – grip a light weight, such as a small dumbbell or a tin of food, bend the elbow at a right angle, extend the hand outwards, palm facing up, bend the wrist up towards the body hold this position for 5 seconds, then release slowly.

• Wrist extensor stretch – raise the arm straight out in front of the body, with the palm facing down, slowly bend the wrist downwards
  using the other hand, gently pull the stretching hand back towards the body, hold this position for 15 to 30 seconds

• Towel twists – hold a loosely rolled-up towel lengthways, with one hand at each end, keep the shoulders relaxed, twist the towel by moving the hands in opposite directions, as if wringing out water, relax and repeat.

If the above exercises do not do the job in helping prevent or treat tennis elbow, do not hesitate to contact us for more information and help.