Tennis elbow is one of the most common problems we encounter with our rock climbing patients; unfortunately this injury can occur due to excessive amounts of office work, not just rock climbing or tennis! In the healthcare world it is referred to as lateral epicondylitis. This refers to the extensor tendons of the forearm being the predominant driver of pain in tennis elbow. However, this isn’t the only site that needs to be addressed.
Tennis elbow is actually a large collection of issues that need to be addressed equally to ensure the problem doesn’t reoccur. Although pain presents around the outside of the elbow, the shoulder and neck are often involved with the presentation of tennis elbow. Nerve impingements and irritation, reductions in range of motion, and imbalances in muscle activity can all result in movement patterns that lead to the presentation of tennis elbow.
Patients with tennis elbow commonly present with a lack of rotation in the neck (usually toward the painful elbow), a posture that moves the affected side’s shoulder forwards and tenderness around the back and side of the shoulder muscles. These presentations are often due to postural positions experienced on a daily basis. Not to say this is the only thing that leads to tennis elbow, but often it isn’t addressed early on in rehabilitation; this can lead to chances of a long recovery period or recurrence of the injury.
For example, research has shown that treatment (specifically dry needling) of the infraspinatus (a muscle at the back of the shoulder) can drastically reduce the amount of pain experienced in those that develop tennis elbow.
At Rock Therapy, we try to involve you in the resolution of tennis elbow as much as possible. Early in your sessions our practitioners will always do whatever they can to reduce your pain when you first come in; massage, dry needling, joint manipulation or shockwave therapy might be used to help reduce the amount of pain you’re in, even during your first session. This may include light movement and activation style exercises to reduce the amount of pain and avoid any loss of strength and muscle wasting associated with prolonged episodes of tennis elbow.
Once your pain has been reduced to manageable levels, we will then move onto figuring out why this injury happened in the first place, and develop an exercise or mobility/stretching regime to try and reduce the chances of you experiencing lower back pain again. Throughout this period we may continue to use hands-on treatment, to ensure the body isn’t responding negatively to this new style of exercise.
As with any injury, there may be situations where we will have to refer out for imaging or other investigations to help determine exactly what is causing your tennis elbow, however more often than not, we’ll be able to treat during your initial consult to reduce the amount of pain you’re currently experiencing.
If you have any questions regarding our approach to treating tennis elbow and whether or not it’s the right option for you, feel free to contact us here.
All of the team here at Rock Therapy are avid rock climbers and train regularly. So we know firsthand all about muscle strains, joint and ligament pain and all types of injuries. Your treatment will be tailored specifically to your body, your injury and the pain you’re experiencing. No standard treatments here, we’ll also listen to your problems. So! If you want to get back to work, sport or just living without pain, Rock Therapy can help, click the “Book Now” button below.
