Tennis Elbow

Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) is one of the most common upper body work-related disorders. Symptoms include pain over the outer elbow, and pain and weakness when performing activities requiring gripping, such as shaking hands and holding a glass of water. ​​

Once identified as an inflammatory condition tennis elbow is now recognised as a complex process, of which inflammation is just its beginning stage. Contributing factors include faulty biomechanics of the cervical and thoracic spine, shoulder, elbow and wrist joints; occlusion of the radial nerve; and a mechanical overloading of the common forearm extensor tendon (specifically extensor carpi radialis brevis).

In light of this, it is not enough to simply rub the area that is sore. This can be a difficult condition to treat and extremely painful so it’s important you have therapists, like the team at Vital Body, with an advanced knowledge of this condition who know how to treat it effectively. If you are suffering from tennis elbow or know someone that is, share this information with them or book a session with us to get it sorted.​

Vitality Tips - Caring for Tennis Elbow

There are many things you can do to help ease the pain of tennis elbow. Here are just a couple of tips we have found really effective.

Ice Pack (shown above)
Especially useful in the early stages, apply the ice pack directly over the affected area. Aim to leave it on for 10 to 15 minutes at a time

Brace
The purpose of a brace is to create a false insertion for the overloaded common forearm extensor tendon. This stops the muscle from pulling directly on its boney attachment at the elbow, allowing it time to heal.

Stretch
This stretches the common forearm extensor muscles and as above, helps to unload the muscles attachment site at the elbow.