Tennis elbow (also known as lateral epicondylitis) will be described as pain on the outside of the elbow on and close to the little boney protrusion you can feel.
A big reason why tennis elbo
w might develop is because of long term tightness in the muscles on the lateral/top side of your forearm. You will see these muscles moving when you wiggle your fingers in a similar way you might do when typing on a computer or when moving your wrist like you're using a hammer. An over use of these muscles can cause tightness to build up and then a tendinopathy can develop where these muscles connect to the elbow.
If you've got this then you will certainly want to get rid of it. We use our hands and arms all the time and it can be very debilitating.
Step 1 - Find someone who is able to do some soft tissue manipulation in the forearm to loosen the tight muscles and get some blood flow back into the area.
Step 2 - Stretch your forearm on a regular basis. Try to do it at least 3 times a day. Try to stretch the top and underside of the forearm on both sides.
Step 3 - Strengthen your forearm. A wrist extension is a great exercise to begin getting some strength back into your forearms and help you recover from tennis elbow. Start with just a few kg and build up slowly. Try for 3 sets of 10-15 daily on both arms.
If you have read this and are struggling with tennis elbow then feel free to find us on social media or drop us an email for more specific advice on how to get rid of it.