Tennis Elbow Physical Therapy
What is tennis elbow? Tennis elbow, otherwise known as lateral epicondylitis, is elbow pain due to tendon irritation at the outside of the elbow.
It typically occurs in active people either with a sport or a job which requires repetitive motion of their upper extremities. Nearly 5% of the population experiences tennis elbow within their lifetime. Symptoms of tennis elbow include tenderness at the elbow, burning pain which occasionally travels down to the wrist, pain with straightening the arm all the way, and pain with twisting the arm as one would to open a door. If you have experienced tennis elbow, you know firsthand that the nagging pain associated with it can interrupt the things you love to do.
How Tennis Elbow Is Caused
Tennis elbow is typically caused by repetitive movements of the wrist and elbow, which irritates the muscles and tendons starting from the back of the hand to the outside of the elbow. This trauma occurs from upper extremity sports such as tennis or racquetball, or a job which requires frequent lifting and overuse of the upper extremities. Tennis elbow typically develops gradually, making it difficult to recognize when to seek treatment. Golf, tennis, playing guitar or other musical instruments, and many other tasks and hobbies can cause tennis elbow.
Treatments for Tennis Elbow
There are several strategies for how to cure tennis elbow. Your physical therapist at Physical Therapy Central will listen to you about your symptoms and how they impact your life. You and your physical therapist will work collaboratively to develop a plan of care that typically includes strategies to manage pain and symptoms, an individualized home exercise program, and gentle manual therapy to the irritated muscles and tendons. When pain and swelling are managed in the area, your physical therapist will work with you on an individualized strengthening program for the muscles in the forearm and wrist to prevent your symptoms from returning.
Visit Our Physical Therapists Today
At Physical Therapy Central, we have more than twenty clinics spread across central Oklahoma and its suburbs. Our qualified physical therapists specialized in arm pain and dysfunction will guide you every step of the way to eliminate the cause and symptoms of your tennis elbow.