So did you know you could get Tennis Elbow even if you have never played tennis?
True story.
My mom got it from mowing the lawn (She tended to do that especially after my Dad cut off the tip of middle finger once upon a time after a bar mitzvah luncheon. FYI, don’t stick your hand into a lawn mower if it gets clogged. Better idea, don’t mow the lawn after a couple of beers or three… it was the late 70s, ’nuff said.)
So, if you have never played tennis why the hell do you have tennis elbow?
Possible causes of tennis elbow
- repetitive strain injuries
- vibration
- overuse
These can happen from all sorts of things including: overuse at work, prolonged computer or mouse work, heavy work such as construction and repetitive strain, mowing lawns, all sorts of other stuff and of course…. tennis.
Symptoms of tennis elbow
Symptoms of tennis elbow can include the following or may be just one of the following:
- pain at the outside (lateral side) of the elbow just above or at the joint line
- sharp pain when picking things up (even an empty cup)
- heat or swelling at the joint (possible but not always)
- forearm pain or tightness
- pain can be in ‘strange’ places such as wrist or thumb ( ‘whaddaya mean its my elbow not my thumb?’)
Treatment of tennis elbow
So what can you do for this painful condition? The best thing of course is to get it treated… Here is what I do for a patient I diagnose with tennis elbow:
- adjust the spine
- Post Isometric relaxation (PIR) technique for the elbow extensors
- deep muscle tissue release of the forearm
- kinesiotape application
- muscle care application
- Wrist adjustments
- exercise prescription
- Icing instructions for the patient
So there is a gold standard exercise for this problem is super easy but really important to do daily. Please see the YouTube Video below for full instructions on it!