Relieve Tennis Elbow Pain with These Physical Therapist-Recommended Stretches

Physical therapy has a large range of benefits, including improving mobility after injuries, relieving pain, and pre-or-post surgery rehabilitation. Tennis elbow, a common injury that is also known as tendonitis, is one of the many conditions that physical therapy can help rehabilitate.

Learn how physical therapy can help relieve tennis elbow pain with these recommended stretches from our physical therapy team at Impact Med Wesley Chapel.

What is Tennis Elbow?

The term “tennis elbow” refers to pain that happens when the outer tendons of your elbow are overworked due to repeated use. It is mainly caused by inflammation of the forearm muscle where it is attached to the elbow.

Tennis elbow doesn’t always occur because you are a tennis player, it can be the result of repetitive movements found in numerous sports and even jobs like painting and construction. Anyone that repeatedly moves their wrists and arm could be affected by this condition.

Symptoms of Tennis Elbow

If you are using your joints and muscles ineffectively—even for everyday activities—like chopping ingredients for dinner, using a computer mouse, using tools, or painting you can get tennis elbow.

Common symptoms include pain and weakness on the outside of your elbow that often radiates to your wrist and forearm.

How Can Physical Therapy Help Tennis Elbow?

Physical therapy can help improve the motion of the joint and reduce pain from the injury. Your physical therapist will help you to identify why the injury occurred, and outline exercises that can help you take the strain off your joints and use them more effectively.

The exercises your physical therapist may suggest are aimed at improving blood flow to the tendons of your arm and may focus on several other things including:

Exercises that involve strengthening and stretching the muscles
Manual with essential oils or ice to help reduce inflammation
Improve blood flow with stimulation of the muscles
Using straps or braces to provide support until your elbow has healed

Stretches for Tennis Elbow Relief

Here are a few exercises and stretches that your physical therapist may suggest for tennis elbow pain:

Wrist Extension:

Hold a light 1–2-pound dumbbell in your injured hand, palm facing down. Sit down and rest the injured elbow on your knee with your wrist extended outward. Curl your wrist downward slightly and back up again.

Wrist Flexion:

This is like the wrist extension exercise except that you curl the wrist upward and down to its normal position. Carefully repeat the movement about ten times and stop when your arm becomes weak.

Towel Twists:

Relax your shoulders and sit down on a chair. Hold a towel with both hands and twist as you would if you were to wring water out of a wet towel. Repeat this ten times in one direction and then again in the other.

Fist Clench:

Lay your forearm against a flat surface and roll a small towel in your hand. Squeeze your hand. Repeat ten times.

Ball Squeeze:

Place a tennis ball in your hand and squeeze it slowly and release. Repeat ten times.

Wrist Turn:

Bend your arm at a 90-degree angle and turn your hand so the palm faces upward. Slowly turn your hand counterclockwise until you feel a stretch. Repeat 3-5 times.

Working with a physical therapist can improve the strength and flexibility of the muscles in your forearm and help avoid re-injury.

Relieve Tennis Elbow Pain with Impact Med

If you are suffering from tennis elbow pain, call our physical therapy team at Impact Med Wesley Chapel! We will create a treatment plan just for you that involves stretching and exercise to help strengthen, stretch, and heal your tennis elbow pain.

Say goodbye to tennis elbow pain and call Impact Med Wesley Chapel today—813-953-1002!