Tennis Elbow
Tennis elbow- despite what the name suggests it isn’t just a tennis injury.
Commonly referred to in the medical field as lateral epicondylalgia, it’s characterised by pain about the outer elbow region, specific to the common extensor tendon origin which involves multiple muscle attachments. Not only can be a real bother when it comes to your tennis backhand, but it can also impact and hinder other common day to day tasks including gripping, writing, cooking and gym training.
Tennis elbow often occurs in from either repetitive manual activity – eg work, or following a sudden increase in an activity you are not accustomed to, for example working on the tools all weekend or a new hobby such as tennis
How do Physio's treat it?
Unfortunately there are no quick fixes when it comes to this condition, often taking 3 -12 months of recovery for return to day to day activities symptom free or without restriction/s. It is best to get onto to treatment early, as the longer the symptoms have been present the longer it can take to settle.
Treatment is broken down into stages of education, unloading, graded reloading and prevention.
Key areas of treatment your Physio will assist you with:
Identifying aggravating activities
Deep dry needling/ soft tissue release
Exercise prescription / home exercise programming including:
Isometrics, static exercises which are careful to not overload the sensitive and painful tendons whilst producing a pain relief
Eccentrics, specifically load the common extensor tendon allowing it to adapt to increasing load / activity demands
Nerve mobility
Upper back (thoracic), neck and shoulder mobility and stability to correct posture and joint control to avoid elbow overload.
If you’ve recently picked up the tools or a tennis racket this summer and begun experiencing elbow pain book into our clinic early for assessment and treatment planning. Call our clinic on (02) 4861 1223 or book online today.