Tennis Elbow and Kinesiology Taping is a standard solution to Tennis Elbow. Here we are, in the middle of tennis season! Wimbledon’s buzz has enticed us to pick up our racquets and head to the courts! And why not? It’s a great sport. Like any physical activity, whilst it’s great for our overall health, it can come with the odd common injury! The most common are lower limb injuries such as ankle and knee sprains & strains.
Sport’s high impact nature, including the jarring, pivoting, and pounding, places the soft tissue under stress. It can cause chronic overuse injuries. An upper limb injury is a result of fast and repetitive arm movements. These couple with high forces and loading placed upon the arm upon racquet impact. These injuries see overuse in nature. A typical upper limb injury we see is lateral epicondylitis. More commonly known as tennis elbow.
However, you don’t have to be a tennis player to suffer from tennis elbow! We see many people all year round presenting with it. They come from many professions where they need to use their arm repetitively. These include dentists, electricians, decorators, musicians, and desk-based workers (typing).
Tennis Elbow. What is it?
When the muscles and tendons of the forearm overload and overstress, micro-tears and inflammation can occur. These are often near the point at which the forearm muscles attach to the outside elbow (the lateral epicondyle). The patient will experience pain outside of the forearm along with pain when bending the arm. Also, lifting, and gripping small objects, and twisting the arm. Additionally, restricted movement in the arm might occur and won’t fully extend.
How do we treat it?
We find in the TLC clinic that the soft tissue in the forearm is incredibly tight and sensitive to touch. The area around the elbow can feel very hard where it should be smooth and pliable. It is often painful too! The idea is to loosen the soft tissue, increase circulation and promote muscle/tendon repair. We tend not to go straight into the site of pain. It is not easy to work on straight away. It can be painful and uncomfortable to the patient, leading to more tension and thus is counterproductive. So, we start by loosening the rest of the forearm. Gently, we work around the elbow until it gives a little bit and becomes less painful to treat. It can take time. Usually, 2 or 3 treatments benefit the soft tissue work. However, it will work, and we will get very successful outcomes!
Tennis Elbow and Kinesiology Taping – A Good Solution
Whilst there are no helpful stretches we can give you for this type of injury. However, we can help you with k-taping or kinesiology taping. We can even show you how to do it yourself at home. It will provide the area with some support whilst still allowing movement to carry out everyday tasks.
