Caroline explains what Tennis Elbow is, some of the ways it manifests, and how physiotherapy can assist.
Tennis elbow is an overuse condition when the tendons of your elbow are overloaded and become irritated (and painful). It is usually caused by repetitive gripping and twisting motions. Therefore, despite its name, anyone who does activities that involve heavy gripping and twisting type movements especially for a sustained period such as using a screwdriver, computer mouse and painting can suffer from tennis elbow.
The tendons involved in tennis elbow are your common extensor tendons. They attach right next to the outside part of your elbow, their role is to extend your wrist and fingers. When they are overloaded, you may experience pain at the elbow, pain with gripping and sometimes it can spread to the wrist as well. When it is bad, you might have trouble lifting the kettle, turning taps, lifting pots/pans, pulling up pants and carrying bags.
Since it is an overuse injury, we need to reduce the load that the tendons are currently under by avoiding aggravating activities. At the same time, we need to do specific exercises to build tissue resilience. Sometimes a custom made thermoplastic splint is needed to rest the finger and wrist or a counter force strap (tape or brace) may be used around the muscles of the upper forearm to divert the pressure away from the sore point.
If you think you are experiencing tennis elbow, reach out to us so that we can help!
CLINICAL PRESENTATION
Presentations include:
- Pain at the elbow
- Pain with gripping, sometimes spread to the wrist
- Difficulty lifting items such as the kettle, pots and pans, turning taps, carrying bags and pulling up pants
HOW PHYSIOTHERAPY WILL HELP
Following are some of the ways that physiotherapy can help:
- Reducing tendon load
- Specific exercises to build tissue resilience
- Custom thermoplastic splint
- Counter force strap
At Innovations Physio & Pilates, we can assist with getting you back to your activities with confidence and comfort.
