You don't have to play tennis to experience the agony of tennis elbow. The painful tendon inflammation caused by overuse of forearm muscles can be caused by all sorts of repetitive activities like typing, painting, knitting, gardening, and even weightlifting.
In this week's episode of Fit Bites, physiotherapist Jeese Awenus shares three easy exercises to fight tennis elbow.
Starting with a simple wrist extensor stretch, Awenus demonstrates how you can relieve tension and increase mobility by placing light pressure on the back of your extended hand while it is bent at the wrist with fingers pointing down. Even a deep self-massage can help eliminate stiffness and tenderness.
Light exercises are one of many treatments for tennis elbow, and experts also recommend icing the elbow to reduce pain and swelling as well as taking anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen or, for more intense pain, painkillers or steroid injections for instant relief. However, aside from strengthening the muscles, most treatments only offer temporary relief.
Left untreated, tennis elbow can worsen, making it difficult to complete everyday tasks like lifting a cup or shaking hands. Surgery may be required for symptoms that surpass a year in duration including rest and treatment.
In our series Fit Bites, we look to fitness and well-being experts for three exercises to relieve common pains and ailments. What condition would you like to see us tackle next? Shoot us an email at CanadaLiving@huffingtonpost.com or let us know in the comments below.
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