21 Mar 5 Rehabilitative Exercises for Tennis Elbow
Everyone is going outdoors to enjoy sports or join in on their favorite activities with summer in full swing. With any professional or recreational pastime comes the risk of getting “tennis elbow.”
This painful injury gets caused when your arm endures repetitive motion. It can happen at work, when exercising, or participating in other activities that prompt overuse. After the extensor carpi radialis brevis tendon, elbow, and surrounding tissues get inflamed, at-home remedies won’t get rid of it.
Before the injury worsens, you should schedule an appointment with our chiropractics in El Segundo. With our multi-specialty approach for physical and sports injuries, your recovery time is sure to lessen. We recommend the following exercises to strengthen your muscles when inflammation subsides.
Fist Clench
Tennis elbow might cause you to lose your grip. Definitely not ideal if you need to pick up items or take on other responsibilities during the day. For this, you’re going to need a table and towel to work the tendons of your fingers and thumb.
- Sit at a table with your forearm extended.
- Roll up a towel, and place it in your hand.
- Squeeze and release for 10 seconds 10 times before switching to the other arm.
Supination With Dumbbells
Need to work on your supinator muscle? This large muscle attaches to the elbow and plays a vital role in turning your palm upward. For this, you’ll need a table and a 2 lbs. dumbbell.
- While sitting at the table, hold a 2 lbs. dumbbell vertically in your hand with your elbow resting on your knee.
- You should feel the pressure of the dumbbell as you rotate your arm outward (turning the palm up).
- Rotate your hand upward and downward 20 times on each side.
- Limit the movement to your lower arm by keeping the upper arm and elbow still.
Extended Wrist
This exercise targets smaller, sensitive muscles located in the wrist. To get them moving and prevent long-term wrist damage, you can continue using the 2 lbs. dumbbell.
- With your palm facing down, rest your elbow on your knee.
- While your palm is faced down (2 lbs. dumbbell in hand), extend the wrist by curling it toward your body.
- Return to starting position and repeat ten times.
Wrist Flex
Like the wrist extension exercise, you will continue in the opposite direction.
- Instead of your palm facing down, it should face up.
- Flex your wrist by curling it toward your body (2 lbs. dumbbell still in hand)
- Follow this procedure and repeat on both arms ten times.
Towel Twist
The last workout is straightforward. All you need is a hand towel!
- As you sit in a chair, hold the towel with both hands.
- Relax your shoulders and begin twisting the towel ten times each.
Always Turn to A Medical Professional First
If you have tennis elbow, we recommend scheduling an appointment at our El Segundo chiropractic center for our invigorating treatment first before practicing the exercises listed above.