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What is Tennis Elbow?
Any muscle or joint in the body that is subject to overuse can be painful, but it becomes particularly problematic when it affects the point at which the muscle-tendon attachment on the bone. Traditionally, tennis elbow is linked to higher impact movements – like repetitively hitting a tennis ball with a racquet and subsequently placing excessive stress on the wrist extensors, flexors, pronators or supinators (the muscles that surround the elbow, forearm and wrist). This action of hitting the tennis ball pulls quickly on the extensor muscles and the tendons, which can cause muscular or tendon injuries.
Despite its name, there are many different ways in which you can hurt these muscles and find yourself in need of chronic tennis elbow rehabilitation. Some examples include:
- Using hand tools repeatedly – for example a screwdriver, scissors, garden shears or even using a knife to cut… Power tools are arguably even worse!
- Using tools that are required for decorating, plumbing or bricklaying.
- Activities that require you to repeatedly bend your elbow, for example, playing drums or stringed instruments.
- Anything that involved fine and repetitive hand and wrist movements such typing or sewing.
- And of course, playing sports such as tennis, squash or badminton, or sports that involve throwing, such as discus or javelin.
Symptoms of Tennis Elbow
We have a wide variety of different people visiting our sports rehab clinic in Aberdeen for exercise advice for tennis elbow rehab – it is not limited to just tennis players. It’s becoming a more common injury simply because more people are spending their workday at a computer, and typing can be one of the biggest aggravators even though it’s low impact. There are a few signs to look out for if you are concerned that you may have tennis elbow:
- The most obvious symptom is pain radiating from the outside of the elbow and around the outside of the upper forearm and is particularly painful when lifting or bending the arm.
- You may have difficulty in gripping or twisting the forearms, for example difficulty in opening jars or even grasping a pen properly.
- If you suspect it could be from low impact repetitive movements, then your muscles may feel fatigued and tight rather than painful.
- There may be mild to moderate swelling around the area, and athletes may experience sudden twinges or severe pain.
Tennis elbow typically tends to develop gradually over a few months, rather than as a sudden consequence of poor form or as a result of an accident.
How is tennis elbow diagnosed?
In order to give expert exercise advice for tennis elbow rehab/rehabilitation, firstly we need to make sure that we have the correct diagnosis. When you come to our sports rehab clinic in Aberdeen, your physical therapist will perform a careful examination – not only of your elbow and forearm but other areas that might be contributing as well.
We will perform special manual tests to help diagnose and to help detect other conditions such as muscle weakness that might be a contributing factor. Your physical therapist may ask you to extend your wrist or index finger to try and grip an object, or you may be asked to tense these muscles whilst Chris, our sports therapist, makes his assessment.
Massage Techniques
One of the best chronic tennis elbow rehabilitation methods is to use a deep tissue massage to help ease the pain and put you on the road to recovery. Leaving the elbow to rest and heal on its own could take anywhere from 6 months to a year! There is also a high chance that the injury can reoccur in this time, and so preventing reinjury is extremely important.
Initially, using a hot or cold compress can help with any swelling or inflammation. Furthermore, a balanced whole food plant-based diet can help to support blood flow, aiding in recovery time and reducing any further unnecessary inflammation caused by foods such as dairy or “fatty” meats. You may need over-the-counter painkillers such as Ibuprofen or paracetamol to help ease pain (anything stronger than that should only be taken upon official prescription from your GP/Doctor. Even then, you must let our team know). Once you have visited our sports rehab clinic in Aberdeen and we have diagnosed you with tennis elbow, we can begin with a deep tissue massage.
Deep tissue massage to the forearm is a very effective method of treating tennis elbow and there are several different techniques that can be combined in order to speed up the healing process.
Effleurage
This is a type of massage that uses the palms of the hands to warm up the muscles by performing long strokes before you get to the deep tissue massage. It aims to speed up circulation and helps to relax your muscles.
Transverse Friction Massage
This is the deep tissue massage section of chronic tennis elbow rehabilitation, and your physical therapist will work the elbow joint (and the surrounding muscles) through massaging at a much firmer pressure than the effleurage. This will help to bring back your range of motion following your tendons and muscles being tight from the tennis elbow injury.
Trigger point therapy
A trigger point is an area in the muscle that is unusually tight, and causing pain. Your therapist will use deep pressure on these points to help reduce the muscle tension and pain. It requires deep constant pressure and needs to be done multiple times to see the desired results.
Is a Deep Tissue Massage Good for Tennis Elbow?
Tennis elbow, or lateral epicondylitis, is a very common injury from repetitive stress to the arm or elbow due to overuse. It is something that our sports rehab clinic in Aberdeen encounters regularly with clients who need urgent rehabilitation services, and one of the best ways to help chronic tennis elbow rehabilitation along is to use a deep tissue massage to fast track the recovery and to help ease the pain.
When should you start deep tissue massage for chronic tennis elbow rehabilitation?
Following the diagnosis, deep tissue massage should be started at our sports rehab clinic in Aberdeen, as soon as possible. It is the safest and most effective way to heal tennis elbow, but it still may take weeks or months to heal. Be patient and allow the injury plenty of healing time. You will also receive advice from our sports therapist (Chris) regarding the on-going care that you should be taking whilst at home, in-between appointments, to give yourself the best chance at a speedier recovery.
Remember to speak to your therapist to find out the best exercise advice for tennis elbow rehab, and for approximate time frames regarding when you can go back to doing the activities you enjoy. Your therapist will help you to remain as active as possible when going through treatment and will teach you how to modify your daily activities to avoid pain and prevent reinjury.
If you would like any further help or advice, please get in touch with us or pop into our sports rehab clinic in Aberdeen for more information and guidance.
