TENNIS ELBOW PAIN OVERVIEW
Tennis elbow (also known as lateral epicondylitis) occurs when the tendons in your elbow are under too much pressure from motion in the wrist and arm. Then, tiny tears and inflammation can develop on the outside of your elbow. It’s usually an issue of overuse, but can be very stubborn to eliminate once you have it.
Despite its name, it does not just affect people who play tennis or even golf. In fact, it’s not just athlete who suffer from tennis elbow and the pain that comes along with it. There are plenty of people who have occupations, which require the kind of motion that can lead to tennis elbow… for example, plumbers, painters and carpenters all move their arms and wrists in certain ways that can lead to elbow pain.
Studies have also shown that auto workers, cooks, and even butchers get tennis elbow more often than the average population. This is due to continual repetitive movement that is required in these jobs. The condition usually affects men and women equally, but is more common in people who are 40-60 years old.
SYMPTOMS
The pain from tennis elbow usually occurs where the tendons of your forearm attach to a bony bump on the outside of your elbow, called the lateral epicondyle). Pain can also spread into your forearm and wrist. Take a look…
As you can see, the pain is usually just below the bend in your elbow, but can spread down to the forearm and wrists too.
Typically, you’ll feel pain while performing these actions:
- lifting or bending your arm
- gripping small objects, such as a pen
- twisting your forearm, such as turning a door handle or opening a jar
TREATMENT
Since, tennis elbow is usually due to specific overuse, it’s important to be aware of that and try to limit that motion for a little while. That is the first step to healing tennis elbow. Some people recommend pain killers and surgery, but we tend to avoid those suggestions, if at all possible. We are more interested in getting to the root of the problem and fixing it properly.
Now, most people try to deal with tennis elbow directly. In other words, people ice it (which we do not recommend) or strap on a brace (we also do not recommend). But, that never gets rid of the pain… The reason is that you have to deal with the underlying muscle imbalances that are putting stress and pressure on the elbow in the first place.
Specifically, the main areas that are out of whack are the chest, shoulders and back. Basically, when you go into a specific motion, if the back is weak and the chest and shoulders are tight, then it will place stress on the elbow. For example, it’s vital to ensure that the back can decelerate the motion instead of the elbow (the back has much bigger and stronger muscles to decelerate than the elbow).
That’s why rehab is so important for tennis elbow. It will create an environment in your body that takes the stress OFF the elbow, which allows it to heal and prevents tennis elbow from happening again.
Therefore, it is not surprising that a great deal of research has shown that rehab is the most effective way to heal tennis elbow and eliminate chronic pain. A high quality rehab program fixes the muscle imbalances and postural distortions that cause elbow pain and dramatically improve strength, stability and healthy range of motion, which significantly reduces the risk of re-injury. (American Journal of Physiology, Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, Journal of Athletic Training, etc.)
The MALIN METHOD is an easy way to naturally eliminate tennis elbow at home, in 3 easy steps, guaranteed. It is an advanced rehab system that is easy to follow in 3 simple steps at home and you don’t need any equipment. If you’d like to learn more about it, please click Tennis Elbow System.
