21 Mar Physical Therapy For Tennis Elbow
Physical therapy is a form of medical rehabilitation that works to improve your mobility after an injury and alleviate pain. A very common condition that is treated by physical therapists is tennis elbow. This can also be referred to as tendonitis and lateral epicondylitis.
What’s Tennis Elbow?
Tennis elbow is described as pain that is felt in the tendons on the outside of the elbow. This pain develops due to being overworked in the form of repetitive use injury. This particular injury starts with inflammation in the forearm muscle where it’s attached to the elbow. These repetitive movements can be caused by things like racketball, tennis, and painting. While tennis is the term that this condition is given, it can be created by any repetitive movement of the wrist and forearm.
How Can Physical Therapy Help?
Your elbow tendonitis treatment El Segundo will be constructed of various exercises prescribed by your physical therapist. These exercises are given with the aim of enhancing the blood flow to the tendons in the arm. These tendons will naturally receive less oxygen than their surrounding muscles. So, exercises can assist in allowing more oxygen to get to your tendons for faster tendon recovery.
Apart from prescribing exercises, your physical therapist may include some other forms of treatment in your rehabilitation plan. This could be massaging the muscles to enhance blood circulation. You may be given ice to help reduce inflammation of the arm. The use of straps and/or braces may also be recommended to give your arm additional support while it’s healing.
Common Exercises Prescribed For Tennis Elbow
Your chiropractor El Segundo will give you a rehabilitation plan with various exercises. There are many common ones that are used by professionals in the industry. These include all of the following:
Wrist Flexion
In this movement, you’ll curl your wrist upward. Then, release your wrist to its natural position. This movement is repeated for the desired number of sets prescribed by your therapist.
Wrist Extension
You may be given a light dumbbell or some similar form of weight. You’ll want to hold the weight in your palm with it facing towards the ground. Sit your body down and prop your elbow onto your knee. Next, curl your wrist downward and in. Then, release your wrist back to its natural position. Repeat for the desired number of reps.