Tennis elbow is a common condition that can affect active people. If you feel chronic pain and discomfort around the outer part of your elbow, you may be experiencing symptoms of this condition. Also known as lateral epicondylitis, tennis elbow does not only affect tennis players. Anyone who engages in repetitive arm and wrist movements can be at risk. Tennis elbow occurs when the tendons attaching the forearm muscles to the elbow become inflamed. The inflammation often leads to pain radiating from the elbow down the forearm. When you are experiencing this condition, it can keep you from participating in the activities you enjoy. Treatment is essential to help you make a full recovery. If you are dealing with tennis elbow, physical therapy can be a game changer. To understand why PT is an effective treatment method, it can help to learn about the benefits it offers.
6 benefits of physical therapy for tennis elbow
- Pain management — Physical therapists are trained to assess pain and its underlying causes. When you attend physical therapy for your tennis elbow, pain relief is probably a top priority. Using a variety of techniques, PT specialists can help you manage your pain and discomfort. Treatment that targets the elbow can reduce muscle tension and inflammation. By managing the irritation in your elbow, physical therapy can reduce your pain in this region. Pain management helps make life easier as you continue to progress in your treatment.
- Customized exercise — A good care provider will understand that treatments are not one-size-fits-all. Tennis elbow can range in severity. In addition, each person’s overall physical condition is unique. This makes tailored treatment vital. A physical therapy specialist can design a personalized treatment program to target the area affected by tennis elbow. This treatment might include exercises to strengthen the muscles and tendons around the elbow. Customization can ensure that each exercise matches your needs and capabilities. As you progress, your physical therapy specialist can adapt your treatment in response. An effective exercise regimen can improve strength, flexibility and healing.
- Stretching techniques — Tennis elbow can severely restrict arm movement. This can prevent you from participating in sports and even regular daily activities. Attempts to move the affected arm without guidance can lead to more intense pain. To improve your range of motion more safely, physical therapy stretches can be helpful. The stretches you learn in physical therapy can improve flexibility and relieve tension caused by your tennis elbow.
- Manual therapy — Hands-on PT techniques to relieve pain and promote healing are called manual therapy. By manipulating certain joints and tissue, a physical therapist can help alleviate elbow pain by lowering inflammation. One common manual therapy technique is called joint mobilization. Joint mobilization is often used to treat tennis elbow pain and restore flexibility in the joint. If you want treatment for your pain and stiffness, joint mobilization can be an effective solution. This technique can also boost the quality of your joint, helping to prevent re-injury.
- Compound movement training — When you have tennis elbow, keeping your condition stable is important. Continued repetitive motions without guidance can lead to your symptoms getting worse. If you want to continue exercising, education is essential. Compound movement training is used to train proper exercise technique for compound motions. When you engage in a compound movement or exercise, you are engaging multiple muscle groups at the same time. These exercises can improve your joint stability and overall coordination. As you progress in your physical therapy treatment for tennis elbow, a PT specialist or trainer can help assess your capabilities. This is meant to establish a starting point for your movement training and compound exercise routine.
- Kinesiology — For some injuries and conditions, specialized devices can boost recovery. After a sports injury, taping is often used to keep the affected area stable. One highly effective kind of therapeutic tape is kinesiology taping. This stretchy material can have immediate benefits by reducing pain in your elbow. The tape can also increase circulation to help your elbow recover faster.
REPAIR SI can help address your tennis elbow with expert physical therapy
Ready to address the symptoms affecting your arm? REPAIR SI offers top physical therapy services to treat your tennis elbow. Our team of expert physical therapists can design a treatment plan that is right for you. Specialized pain management treatments can help you feel better in the short term while other treatments and exercises help you work toward lasting recovery. With a range of tools and methods available, we are ready to help you get back to the activities you love.
Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment.