Do you have elbow pain? Specifically, on the outside of the elbow after a long day at work or when you come home from the gym? How about stiffness and pain that radiates down towards the hand? Maybe even a bit of weakness too? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might have Lateral Epicondylitis. Colloquially known as “Tennis Elbow”, Lateral Epicondylitis is an incredibly common condition in todays working world.

You might be saying to yourself, “wait a second, I don’t remember the last time I picked up a racket, let alone played a game of tennis. How in the world did I get this?”. Surprisingly, only 5% of confirmed cases of Tennis Elbow are found in tennis players.

Let’s take a step back and look at what is going on in that area of the body when you have Tennis Elbow. The Elbow itself is a complex junction of 3 bones, that articulate together to allow the arm and wrist to flex and extend. These bones create structure for the arm as well as act as anchor points for the muscles that allow you to perform these movements. Located in the area of the elbow that is causing you pain, is a region referred to as the Common Extensor Origin. Most of the muscle that allow you bring your wrist backwards (extension) attached to the CEO. Tennis Elbow primarily effects a muscle called Extensor Carpi Radialis (originating at the CEO).

When you use these muscles repeatedly for things like house work, driving, typing on the computer or physical tasks at work, you can aggravate the tendons of these muscles. Resulting in the discomfort and weakness that you may feel.

When you’re not seeing the passionate and knowledgeable professionals at Revitamax Rehab and Wellness for treatment, there is a lot you can do at home. An incredibly effective home care treatment that you can perform is slow eccentric loading. Support your arm on a stable surface and place a light weight in your hand. With your free hand, extend the wrist fully and slowly lower the weighted hand down. When the wrist is in the fully flexed position, again use the free hand to return it to the fully extended position. The inclusion of this exercise in a 2 Set 10 Rep format will go along way in improving your condition.