It is a well accepted fact that a well designed program of tennis elbow exercises is the most effective and safest tennis elbow treatment option. However, in many cases it has been noticed that in spite of practicing the exercises, the patient has not got the desired result. The most common reason behind this is the fault in the design of the exercise program or in the implementation of it. You cannot just randomly practice few exercises and expect to get a good result. Type of the exercises, number of repetitions, frequency, duration – each of these needs to be properly defined and followed.
There is a unanimous agreement among the experts that an effective tennis elbow exercise course should have a proper combination of the strengthening and stretching exercises.
Three main forms of musculotendinous contractions that strengthen the tendons are – eccentric, concentric and isometric. According to most of the therapists, eccentric contractions are the most effective treating tennis elbow. For the best result in tennis elbow treatment, eccentric training should be performed for the extensor tendons of the wrist, including the Extensor Carpi Radialis Brevis (ECRB) tendon of the wrist. A visit can be made to the professionals as they are providing some great tips to help ease your pain. The reduction in the pain is effective with the selection of the right exercise. The twisting and turning of the waist should be in the right direction to get effective results.
The three major components that need to be properly specified in an eccentric exercise are load, speed and frequency. With increasing load, your tendon is subjected to greater stress. This forms the basis for your progression with tennis elbow exercises. Most of the therapists are of the opinion that the load in an eccentric exercise should be defined according to patient’s symptom, otherwise there remains a high chance of re-injury.
Speed is related to the load to some extent. An important criterion in defining the load and speed is that it should not exceed the elastic limit of the tendon and generate less injurious heat within the tendon.
Sets and repetitions may vary within a reasonable range depending on the load and velocity. However, it has been noticed that three sets of ten repetitions with elbow in full extension, forearm in pronation and with the arm supported without overloading the injured tendon.
Stretching exercises are performed to increase the flexibility of the tendons. There are several types of stretching exercises. Static stretching has been observed to be the most effective stretching exercise.
Static stretching involved slowly stretching the muscles and tendons and holding at the stretched position for some time. The magnitude of stretch is determined by at which stage the patient starts feeling moderate discomfort. These exercises should be performed only for injured tendons, not for all tendons. For tennis elbow treatment, these exercises should be performed for the ECRB which is most commonly affected.
If you are thinking of doing tennis elbow exercises for a safer and faster tennis elbow treatment, I would highly recommend you to choose an exercise course designed by experts keeping all these aspects under consideration.
