Stop Tennis Elbow Pain

Tennis Elbow – or lateral epicondylitis if we’re getting technical – as the name suggest, is an injury that is most common in tennis players. This is due to the actions of the wrist and elbow and the forces placed through the muscles around these joints. However, anyone can succumb to it through any form of repetitive movement. Throwing a ball, lifting weights, typing, etc can all lead to this type of inflammation of the elbow. In order to stop tennis elbow pain we first need to mobilise the joint to get some blood flow to the affected area. We also need to strengthen and stretch the affected muscles. Following the 3 simple exercises in the video will help you to tick all of these boxes and stop tennis elbow pain in its tracks.

So hit play and get to work on your recovery!

Elbow Extension with Wrist Mobilisation

For this exercise you will need to go to the floor and start on on your hands and knees. You will only be working on one arm at a time so start on your dominant or affected arm.

Fully extend the elbow and keep it locked throughout the whole movement
Rock your hips and body back towards your heels
Splay your fingers out and keep them apart
Lift/extend your wrist off the ground and towards your body – be sure to maintain this through the exercise
Keeping your elbows lock and wrists extended, slowly rock forward onto your palms and keep moving until your palms can no longer stay on the ground
Slowly rock your body back towards your heels, focus on extending your wrists off the ground as soon as possible.
Congratulations, you’ve just done 1 rep! Aim for 3-6 reps per arm and slowly build up as pain decreases.

Eccentric Loading

I use a dumbell in the video but if you don’t have access to one you can always substitute with any weighted object that can held in your hand. Use a bench, chair, table, or any flat surface and rest your forearm on it with your wrist and hand hanging over the edge.

Place a weight in your hand that is hanging off the bench.
Use your opposite hand to assist the wrist in going into full extension (curl your knuckles towards you).
Release the assisting hand and slowly (eccentrically) let the weight pull your wrist all the way into flexion. Aim for about 4-5 seconds for this phase of the movement.
Then simply repeat steps 2 and 3 in order, bringing the wrist back to the fully extended position with the help of your free hand, release at the top, and eccentrically load the wrist going all the way back into full flexion.

Complete 3 sets of 12 reps. As you get stronger increase the reps to 15/20/25. Once you are comfortable with the higher reps, increase the weight you are holding and drop the reps back to 12.

Wrist Flexion and Extension Holds

This exercise can be done standing or seated.

Have your arm down by your side and then bend the elbow to 90 degrees.
Form a really tight fist – squeeze it as hard as you can!
Maintain that squeeze and extended your wrist as far as you can, holding for 5 seconds
Return your wrist to a neutral position, releasing the fist and splaying for fingers out as wide as possible.
With the fingers spread wide, fully flex the wrist as far as possible and hold for 5 seconds.
Return to a neutral wrist

Repeat 6 cycles (6 of flexion and extension). As you get stronger increase the number of cycles. You will be aiming for 3 – 5 sets in total.

Hopefully these exercises give you some relief and help you stop tennis elbow pain for good!

Should any of these exercise cause intense or excruciating pain please STOP immediately and seek advice from a health professional.

If you found this interesting then feel free to check out our other videos and be sure to drop us a message on our Facebook page if you want us to focus on a particular injury or have any questions. If you are looking for some extra guidance or not sure how to train with a particular injury then drop your details in below for a free consult or give us a call.

Goodluck with your rehab journey!