Tennis Elbow is an overuse syndrome that causes tendonitis of forearm muscles that attach on the outside of your elbow. For many it can flare up beginning around this time of year because it can be caused by many different types of activities that require gripping and are often enjoyed with the warmer weather. Dr. Murphy with Stamford Spine is explaining how to prevent and treat Tennis Elbow.
What causes Tennis Elbow?
It’s caused by using your arm and wrist repeatedly with activities. When muscles and tendons get used at a faster rate than they can heal from, we often get tendonitis. This is the body’s way of letting us know that we have a problem there. It starts with a tightness and then progresses to symptoms of pain.
If you are active with a sport that requires a lot of gripping like; climbing, weight training, pickle ball or golf you are at risk of developing “Tennis Elbow”. Other common activities that can cause an overuse syndrome at the elbow are prolonged driving, working with tools like hammers and drills or with gripping paint brushes.
What can I do to prevent and treat Tennis Elbow?
Some professionals will recommend that you rest for 4-12 weeks, take NSAIDs and apply ice or heat. I often don’t see this to be an effective approach for resolution of the problem. Most people feel the pain again as soon as they return to the activity. Plus, you have wasted 4-12 weeks that you could have been actively treating and resolving the problem, then getting back to practicing the activities that you are passionate about.
I find that getting into the tendons with deep tissue massage and then applying ice or moist heat after is especially helpful in rejuvenating the overused tendons and muscles. They have bands that you can place around the forearm that also reduce the elbow pain. Practice specific therapeutic exercises that strengthen the elbow tendons. You also use a massage gun at home and apply it at the forearm muscles and their tendons. I have seen great results come with acupuncture treatments.
Learn More!
If you are experiencing Tennis Elbow, call us at (203) 580-3232.
Find information here about what to expect during your first visit. Initial visits last one hour so that we have time to thoroughly assess your complaints and determine the best course of action. This initial evaluation helps us to determine the specific cause of your symptoms. From there, we can develop a unique treatment plan tailored to helping you heal as quickly as possible.
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