Tennis elbow is a common condition that causes pain and weakness on the outside of your elbow.   It affects thousands of people with physically intense occupations like construction workers and carpenters.  However, it also affects many office workers at an equal rate.  A wide variety of treatments are recommended.  These include bracing, anti-inflammatory medication, shots, surgery, and exercise.  This article teaches you some of the best physical therapy exercises for tennis elbow pain.

Tennis Elbow Prognosis

The prognosis of tennis elbow is good.   Pain typically resolves on its own within 1 year with no treatment at all.  However, the reoccurrence rate of this condition is almost 10 percent within 1 year.  You can help prevent this by addressing the root cause of the problem.

The treatments listed above address the area of pain at the elbow, however, the neck, shoulder, and wrist can also be the root cause of pain.  This is why many treatments are sometimes ineffective.  Bracing, drugs, shots, and surgery help address the pain, but will not cure the source of the problem if other areas are involved.

Physical Therapy Treatment Options 

Neck and Shoulder Treatments

Besides your elbow, there are 2 other regions of your body that contribute to elbow pain.  The first would be your neck.  Most people with tennis elbow also experience some neck pain.  This is often mild.  But similar to sciatica in your lower back and legs, there can be irritation of the nerves in your neck that leads to elbow pain.  Treatments directed at your elbow may help some, however, if the problem in your neck is not also addressed, your elbow pain will persist.

Another contributing factor is the health of your shoulder complex.  Strength and endurance deficits in your shoulder muscles place excessive stress on your elbow leading to pain.  Rowing exercises are one option that addresses these deficits.  Rotator cuff exercises are also recommended for anyone experiencing elbow pain.

Elbow Treatments

Several treatments directed at your elbow will also reduce your pain.  One of the most important things to do is strengthen your wrist extensors.  This will help you to better tolerate the daily activities or work demands that are contributing to your pain.  These exercises are typically painful at first, but your physical therapist will find the right exercises with minimal pain.

Research suggests eccentric exercises are the most beneficial.  The Tyler Twist exercise is one option that is helpful for many people we work with.

There may also be joint stiffness at your wrist or elbow contributing to pain.  Our therapists have advanced training in manual therapy and can find the proper manual treatment to address these areas if indicated.

Get Help from Your Physical Therapist

Most treatment approaches for elbow pain only address the pain and not the root cause of the pain.  Discerning tennis elbow from other conditions can be challenging.  Your physical therapist will work with you to identify all of the contributing areas. If you would like to avoid invasive treatments like shots or surgery, schedule an evaluation with your physical therapist today.