Physical Therapy For Tennis Elbow

Otherwise called lateral epicondylitis, tennis elbow is one of elbow injuries considered to be due to overuse. As its name suggests, this is a common result of extensive tennis playing. But other activities can also lead to tennis elbow.

Mechanism of tennis elbow

As a result of repeated contraction of your forearm muscles due to a certain activity, the tendon in your elbow that connects your forearm muscles to the bone may be irritated, inflamed, or even sustain minute tears. That is the mechanism of the injury experienced by tennis elbow patients.

The pain brought by tennis elbow mainly occurs in the area where your forearm muscles attch to the bony prominence on the outer portion of your elbow. This bony prominence is called the lateral epicondyle. Tennis elbow pain can also radiate into your forearm and wrist.

Initial treatment

The initial treatment of tennis elbow includes rest, immobilization, pain medications and anti-inflammatory drugs. However, you should seek medical consultation to have a thorough evaluation of the extent of injury.

Rehabilitation

Upon proper evaluation and diagnosis, your doctor will be able to establish a treatment plan for your rehabilitation. Your doctor will most likely refer you to a physical therapist to perform various forms of physical therapy. Moreover, whether surgery is required or not, your doctor and physical therapist may instruct you to perform certain physical exercises designed to promote healing of your tennis elbow and the restoration of its normal function and movement.

Physical therapy

There are various types of physical therapy for your tennis elbow including:

* Learning new techniques and use of innovative equipment for physical activities to prevent further injury

* Application of ultrasound over the affected area is also considered as a form of physical therapy. Although not quite supported, it is believed that the heat supplied by the ultrasound promotes blood circulation leading to pain alleviation and muscle spasm relief

* Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS): This involves application of electrodes over the affected area to deliver electric current into the nerve trigger points. Although not quite proven, this is believed to help in blocking pain signals from the brain.

* Massage over the inflamed area to help minimize the development of scar tissue and promote new blood vessel formation in the damaged tissue. This should be done using small circular strokes over the injured area. Massage should not be painful and is best performed before and after engaging in physical therapy exercises.

* Manual therapy, otherwise referred to as body work, makes use of the hands in effecting relaxation, pain reduction, and flexibility improvement. Besides massage, this for m of physical therapy includes certain maneuvers to help position joints and bones. Manual therapy also comes in the form of mobilization. Your physical therapist uses gradual, careful movements to twist, pull, or push bones and joints into position.

During rehabilitation of your tennis elbow, your physical therapist will also teach you certain exercises that you can perform under his/her supervision. You will also be taught some exercises that you can do at home to further facilitate the healing of your tennis elbow.

Recovery time for tennis elbow patients may vary from one person to another and may take several weeks or several months depending mostly on his rehabilitation program and his diligence to stick to it. But a proper rehabilitation regimen which includes exercise and physical therapy can facilitate healing and recovery of tennis elbow.