Tennis elbow is a form of inflammation in the tendons on the outside of your elbow. It is usually painful and limits your range of motion in the elbow and the rest of your arm.
Physical therapists can help you reduce pain caused by tennis elbow, but it’s best that you try to prevent it from occurring in the first place. Physical therapy can help with this as well.
Tips for preventing tennis elbow
- Resting — If you regularly use your elbow for physical activities like sports or manual labor, make sure you find time to rest. Frequent breaks can help reduce strain on the elbow that causes irritation and inflammation.
- Exercising — Exercising improves the strength of your muscles. This helps keep the elbow strong and healthy enough to endure more physical activity. Stronger muscles also help reduce pressure off the other parts of the joint, which may prevent tennis elbow from developing.
- Stretching — Stretching improves the flexibility of your muscles and tendons. Always stretch before physical activity to help keep the tendons warm and limber enough to endure repetitive motions. Jumping into a physically demanding activity without stretching can lead to inflammation and tears in the elbow tendons.
- Manual therapy — Manual therapy involves hands-on physical therapy techniques that help with pain and stiffness. A physical therapist can provide manual therapy to help improve the range of motion in your elbow and reduce the chances of a condition like tennis elbow.
- Improving your form — Incorrectly lifting heavy objects or swinging a tennis racket with poor form (or performing other sports activities with poor form) can lead to tennis elbow. Make sure you practice your form to help reduce the chances of tennis elbow developing. You may want to visit a physical therapist to have them monitor your form and make corrections.
Visit Excel Sports & Physical Therapy in St. Louis, MO, for tennis elbow treatment
Are you looking for ways to keep tennis elbow from limiting the use of your arm? If you live near St. Louis, Missouri, come visit our team at Excel Sports & Physical Therapy to see what we can do for you. Contact our team today for more information about tennis elbow prevention and treatment or to schedule an initial appointment.
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