What’s in a Name?
As the name suggests, tennis elbow is sometimes caused by playing racquet sports. However, it is more often caused by other activities that place repeated stress on the forearm and elbow joint, such as decorating, carpentry, assembly-line production or playing the violin. Tennis elbow can get better by itself without treatment but this may take some months. To improve the situation you should reduce or stop the activities that strain your muscles. If this is not possible because the cause is unavoidable (work, for example) then try to modify your actions or wear an elbow brace for support.
Regularly icing the painful area throughout the day can reduce the pain and inflammation as can Ibuprofen gel. Massage will improve the blood flow and relax the muscles to reduce pain and speed up healing. Strengthening exercises should be performed to make sure that the problem does not re-occur.
If the problem was caused by a sporting activity, you should get your equipment and technique checked before returning to the sport. If the overuse is caused by work then you can work with your employer to adjust your workstation, use different tools or take more breaks until the situation is resolved.
It is also important to look at why the elbow may be overloaded, eg an old shoulder or wrist injury.
Here at Move Well, we pride ourselves on finding the true stressor, often where the pain isn’t located.
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Tennis is a great sport to take up. We are blessed in this part of Cornwall to have great quality tennis clubs at Redruth, Penzance, Truro, Falmouth and St Ives. Clubs that welcome those of all ability.
With the correct warm-up, it’s a game that can be enjoyed by all ages by people of all abilities.
For more information about playing tennis in West Cornwall see the Lawn Tennis Association’s website for more details.