You might be experiencing pain in your elbow area. Contrary to public opinion, the diagnosis of tennis elbow likely didn’t surface while you were playing tennis. Tennis elbow is technically called lateral epicondylosis. This is where the bony part on the outside area of your elbow actually tears away from the tendons by any repetitive or motions that my cause stress to the area.
These are tiny tears that could be caused by picking up bricks, vacuuming or doing any sort of landscaping that you have not done in a while. As physical therapists in Wyckoff, we see this often in the spring when people are outside doing manual labor after not doing any exercise or work through the winter months.
Your doctor might recommend that you wear a brace or a pad that takes the pressure off of that tendon area. The most important thing that you can do to promote healing and fast recovery is to rest and not use your elbow in the manner that caused the problem in the first place. Further, you want to apply cold compresses a number of times a day to help reduce any swelling and provide you with substantial pain relief. It might even be necessary to take anti-inflammatory medications to help reduce any swelling or internal inflammation.
Another form of rehabilitation that we implement as part of a physical therapy session would be to massage the area to help scrub the tendon fibers and stimulate the tissue to start repairing itself naturally and faster.
Physical injuries are absolutely not fun to have an deal with. When you experience tennis elbow it can seem very debilitating and limiting your range of motion and the things you can do. If your doctor has prescribed you any of the treatments above including physical therapy, please consider giving us a call and scheduling a free evaluation today.
Apex Orthopedic Rehabilitation is a Wyckoff physical therapy clinic providing services to our local residents since 2004.