TRAINING AROUND TENNIS ELBOW

Ever had elbow pain that just wouldn't quit and always got worse whenever you had to grip something, type, or do any motion with your hand? If so, you may have had tennis elbow, even if you don't play tennis. Tennis elbow doesn't just occur in tennis players, but was so named because the injury happened to increase as tennis grew in popularity. The medical term is lateral epicondylitis, which refers to an inflammation of the tendons that originate on the lateral epicondyle of the humerus, just next to the elbow joint. It sounds strange that wrist or finger movements might give you pain around your elbow, but it makes anatomical sense. These tendons are the attachment for the wrist and finger extensor muscles. As a matter of fact, they are frequently called the common extensor tendon (CET) because numerous tendons all attach at the same site.

Lateral epicondylitis has been blamed on many factors, but overall it seems to be a result of overuse or what is called a repetitive strain injury. When you overuse the wrist extensor muscles, or if you use improper technique or poor mechanics, injury results. As with any injury, the offending activity needs to be stopped until the tissue can heal. Avoiding gripping or pinching activities, especially with the wrist extended, and wearing a splint or a counterforce brace can calm down the inflammation. Typical conservative treatment involves modalities like ice and ultrasound to decrease inflammation. Stretching and strengthening the wrist and finger flexors and extensors when the acute phase is over and performing nerve and tendon glide exercises are part of a physical therapy protocol. Prevention can be as simple as maintaining good strength in the wrist and finger extensors, improving flexibility, using proper body and sports mechanics, and monitoring repetitive wrist motions and gripping activities. Any exercise that involves gripping a weight (that's most of them), as well as specific gripping exercises like clean holds and the grip-improving exercises that I describe in the hand section of this chapter, can help you maintain good strength in these muscles.