By Seb Atkinson 19/12/2024 Conditions

Tennis Elbow Physiotherapy

Pain around your arms and elbows can be common, especially after increased use. Although often it will resolve with time; it can persist, interfering with your day to day life and getting worse if not treated properly.

One of these conditions is Lateral Epicondylitis, commonly called ‘Tennis Elbow’, where pain or burning is felt on the outside of your elbow, while doing everyday activities such as:

Gripping
Lifting
Twisting

Tennis elbow can lead to chronic pain that can significantly affect your quality of life, and leave you with a reduced ability to do certain tasks.

Thankfully, tennis elbow can be treated by Physiotherapists experienced at dealing with the condition.

Read on to discover our approach to physiotherapy for Tennis Elbow.

What is Lateral Epicondylitis (Tennis Elbow)?

Tennis elbow, the more common term for Lateral Epicondylitis, is a result of overuse of the muscles and tendons in the forearm. This causes minor tears and inflammation in the ECRB tendon, short for extensor carpi radialis brevis, an important tendon that extends from your elbow to your wrist.

The main cause is repetitive strenuous activities that load the tendon. This can be repetitive lifting, twisting or gripping (eg during racquet sports like the name suggests). While it isn’t considered a strenuous activity to most people, even typing can lead to tennis elbow due to the repetition.

This leads to pain and tenderness usually just below the bony part of the outer elbow. The condition is most common in people aged 30-50 and can be exacerbated by age-related factors such as worsening blood flow and degeneration over time due to health or lifestyle factors.

Common symptoms of tennis elbow can include:

Pain during movements similar to the activity that caused the overload such as lifting, twisting or gripping tasks.
Continuous pain that restricts all activity in the elbow
The pain worsens and spreads to other areas of the arm
Weakness in muscles in your wrist, fingers, forearms, or shoulders, leading to difficulty gripping and carrying objects.

As the name implies, playing tennis and other racquet sports can be the cause, but it is less common due to the improved designs of the equipment. It can occur with other sports such as swimming, but can also be an occupational injury among gardeners, carpenters, and electricians.

It can also happen due to your set up of your work station and/or how you use your mouse and keyboard. Anything that involves repetitive strain in that tendon can be susceptible to tennis elbow, so keep an eye out for stubborn pain in that area.

How do I treat tennis elbow?

If you think you are suffering from tennis elbow, there are things that you can do at home which are helpful for most types of pain and inflammation regardless of the type of injury. For a proper tennis elbow diagnosis, please consult a professional before starting more specialised treatment.

For general pain and inflammation, the following can help ease symptoms:

Offload – stop or reduce the movements that cause the symptoms if possible
Contrast applying an ice pack for 1 minute with a heat pack for 2 minutes and repeating 6 times. This can help to reduce the swelling and decreasing pain.
Anti-inflammatory medication (please check with your GP before taking any medication)

An experienced Physiotherapist trained in treating tennis elbow can provide the following:

Treatment to reduce the muscle tone in the forearms to relieve the tension on the tendon
Assessment of the painful movements and recommendations of adaptations
Specific strengthening exercises for any areas of weakness that may be exacerbating the problem
An individualised home exercise programme for you to continue the correct treatment yourself at home

In our experience, each case is unique as the cause is often multifactorial, and without professional assessment, you risk worsening your condition. Your Physiotherapist at Recover will tailor a treatment plan to your specific needs, ensuring exercises are introduced at the right time and performed correctly to avoid further strain.

How can physiotherapy help with my tennis elbow

At Recover Physio, we prioritise a personalised approach to your recovery from the very start. During your initial consultation, our expert physiotherapists conduct a thorough assessment to understand your condition, lifestyle and goals, which allows us to tailor a treatment plan specifically for you, addressing your needs and ensuring optimal outcomes.

We focus on providing targeted care, customised exercises prescription to promote effective and efficient recovery.

Depending on what we find during our assessment, physiotherapy for tennis elbow can involve the following modes of treatment:

Using a counterforce brace to offload the strain on the tendon by redistributing pressure away from the affected area
Contrast therapy: alternating between applications of heat and ice to reduce inflammation and improve blood flow
Soft tissue techniques like dry needling therapy, massage or deep transverse friction techniques to help tendons get unstuck and start healing
A programme specifically for your condition involving techniques to decrease the muscle tone and functional exercises to address any weaknesses.
General education on better movement in order not to worsen or repeat the injury when engaging in the activity that caused it.

How Recover Physiotherapy Can Help

Speak to a Therapist

If you would like to discuss your condition to find out how we can help, you can speak to one of our friendly therapists. Just click below to request a call back from a member of our team.