Tennis Elbow Relief - It's All in the Wrist
Tennis Elbow
Tennis Elbow, also known as lateral epicondylitis, is a painful condition caused by overuse. Over time, the forearm muscles and tendons become damaged from repeating the same movements again and again. While tennis and other racquet sports can lead to this injury, several other sports and activities can increase your risk as well.
Specific exercises to stretch and strengthen the muscles attached to the injured tendon will help the healing process. The goal is the promote muscle endurance and improve resistance to repetitive stress.
Exercises for Tennis Elbow
Wrist Flexion
Wrist flexion stretching should be used as a warm-up prior to the strengthening exercises.
- Straighten your elbow with your palm facing down and bend your wrist so that your fingers point down. 5 reps, 4x’s a day.
Strengthening Exercises
Strengthening exercises should be performed in stages. Exercises should not be painful; however some degree of discomfort is normal. Begin each stage with no weight. When you are able to perform 30 reps in 2 consecutive days with no increase in pain, progress by gradually increasing the weight.
- With palm down, bend your wrist up as far as possible.
- Hold up for 1 count, then slowly lower for a count of 3 seconds.
- Follow the same steps above to continue to increase repetitions and weight until you are able to use a 3 pound weight and are able to perform 30 repetitions on 2 consecutive days without increasing pain.
- 30 reps, 1x a day
If you are still experiencing pain after trying these exercises, one of our upper extremity doctors would be happy to see you at one of our 8 convenience clinic locations.
Casey McGhee, PT, MPT, OCS, Cert MDT, CMP is the clinic manager for OrthoSouth Physical Therapy in Southaven.
