Many injuries like tennis and golfer's elbow are caused by overuse but problems in other parts of your body, like weakness in the shoulder muscles or overdoing the same wrist and hand movements, may also play a part.
After listening to your health history and examining your elbow and surrounding areas, your osteopath will find out the likely causes and tailor treatment to your needs.
You may be taught some exercises to strengthen the muscles in your lower arm and other areas. You may get advice on small changes you can make to your daily routine to avoid making the symptoms worse. Sometimes your osteo will work on other areas of your body like your lower and upper arm, shoulder and upper back.
The current evidence says that elbow clinical exercises, patient education and manual therapy may relieve pain for adults with tennis elbow. strengthening and stretching exercises, manipulation and soft tissue massage have helped some patients (Sutton et al 2016).
Here are 6 exercises you can try at home or at the gym to assist with managing elbow pain:
Wrist Flexor Stretch: Sit on a chair with your feet flat on the ground. Extend your arm out in front of you, palm facing down. With your other hand, gently press down on the back of your hand to push it towards the floor to stretch your wrist and forearm muscles. Hold for 15-30 seconds, then release and repeat on the other arm.
Wrist Extensor Stretch: Sit on a chair with your feet flat on the ground. Extend your arm out in front of you, palm facing up. With your other hand, gently pull your fingers back towards the floor to stretch your wrist and forearm muscles. Hold for 15-30 seconds, then release and repeat on the other arm.
Pronation-Supination Exercise: Sit on a chair with your feet flat on the ground. Hold a lightweight dumbbell/a water bottle/can of baked beans with your palm facing down. Rotate your wrist to turn your palm up, then back down to the starting position. Repeat for 10-15 reps, then switch to the other arm.
Tricep Extension: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a dumbbell of a comfortable weight in one hand. Extend your arm overhead and bend your elbow to lower the weight behind your head. Straighten your arm to lift the weight back up overhead. Repeat for 10-15 reps, then switch to the other arm.
Bicep Curls: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a dumbbell of a comfortable weight in each hand. With your palms facing up, bend your elbows to lift the weights towards your shoulders. Lower the weights back down to the starting position. Repeat for 10-15 reps.
Eccentric Wrist Extension: Hold a lightweight dumbbell in one hand and sit on a chair with your feet flat on the ground. Extend your arm out in front of you, palm facing down. Slowly lower the weight towards the ground using your wrist and forearm muscles. Repeat for 10-15 reps, then switch to the other arm.