You've probably heard the condition 'Tennis Elbow' thrown around a lot? Find out what it actually means and what you can do to help it.

Tennis elbow is an umbrella term for pain on the outside of the elbow.

• This means the pain can be coming from the joint itself, bone, ligaments, tendon, muscle or a combination.
• The pain may have been caused from a strain, tear, trauma or a repetitive stress injury to any of the structures mentioned above.

What can you do to help it?

• The best thing to do is to manage or change your load. Depending on the cause of your issue, you may need to cut back or stop and change your technique.
• You also need to get some work done on it by a Physiotherapist. We can help assess your problem and formulate the best way to tackle the problem.
• In your physiotherapy session a combination of hands on treatment, dry needling and taping can greatly help relieve your symptoms and get you back on the road to recovery.
• Helping yourself through stretches and self-massage will aid in recovery
• Understand that tennis elbow may take some time to return to normal

Here are some simple tips/ exercises to try:

1.Massage with a ball: place the ball between your elbow and the wall. Hold it on the areas of tenderness. Gently rock the ball across your elbow muscles. Complete for 2-5 minutes. Take breaks if needed.

2.Stretches: Place the back of your hand on the wall, lock the elbow out and gently apply pressure. You should feel a stretch in the muscles of your forearm. Hold for 30 seconds

3.Lifting technique: Don't pick things up with an overhand grip. Use an underhand grip to prevent further irritation to the elbow.