“Tennis elbow” is a very common injury of overuse, that is caused by a repetitive activity. Although the name originated from racket sport injuries, this only makes up a small group of people who experience this injury as it’s widely found among painters, carpenters, plumbers, butchers, cooks, assembly-line workers, and from playing musical instruments or tree-cutting. Essentially – jobs or activities that involve repetitive arm motion can cause “tennis elbow”.
More specifically, tennis elbow is a pain focused on the outside of the arm, where your forearm meets your elbow.
This injury is related to a muscle and tendons in your forearm. Tendons connect your muscles to your bones. When you constantly use your arm in a repetitive motion, the tendons at the elbow end of a certain muscle (the extensor carpi radialis brevis (ECRB) muscle) may become damaged. This damage may produce inflammation and may put stress on the rest of your arm, making it painful to lift and grip things. Other symptoms of tennis elbow include pain and burning on the outside of the elbow.
The first steps in treating tennis elbow are reducing any inflammation and resting the irritated muscles and tendons. Ice and compression may also help reduce inflammation and pain. Once pain subsides, you can begin gentle exercises to strengthen the muscles of the forearm and prevent recurrence.
Physiotherapy can be very effective for the pain management and recovery of tennis elbow. Physiotherapy for this injury aims to achieve the following:
- Reduction of elbow pain
- Facilitation of tissue repair
- Restoration of the normal joint range of motion and function
- Restoration of normal muscle length, strength and movement patterns
- Normalisation of your upper limb neurodynamics
- Normalisation of cervical joint function
Our qualified and highly-experienced Physiotherapists will conduct a thorough assessment of your elbow, and the surrounding affected areas, and will discuss the best strategy for you to use based on your symptoms, pain and lifestyle. Our goal is to get you moving pain-free again!
To book in for Physiotherapy, Acupuncture, Massage or Pilates – call the clinic on 3869 1099.