Exercises for Tennis Elbow

At the Recovery Room Chiropractic and Wellness, we know that the key to overcoming a stubborn tennis elbow diagnosis is a well structured rehabilitation and exercise plan.  Since lateral epicondylitis is a load management and capacity issue, if you do not want to stop playing your sport, or your job is such that it puts a lot of stress on your elbow, the only long-term solution is making the muscles of the arm stronger and more capable of handling the tasks you are asking it to do.

Click here for more information on our specialized tennis elbow treatment in Burlington. 

You’ve been doing the classic forearm stretches and wringing out a towel for what seems like forever, and yet your elbow pain persists.  It is not that those exercises are bad; it may just be that you are doing them during the wrong period of your recovery.  In our clinic we used a structured and evidence-based framework for progressing you through the right exercises, at the right time.  Tennis elbow rehabilitation is all about gaining strength, as well as improving the tendon's ability to better handle repetitive stresses.  

Keep reading below for examples of different types of exercise, and a general timeline of how they may be used in your recovery.

Isometric Contractions:

These are exercises where there is no movement involved; think pushing into a wall, your muscles are working and contracting, but you are not actually moving anything. 

• When are they used: From the early stages all the way through to the end of rehab. 
• Why are they used: Long duration isometric contractions have been shown to best stimulate tendon repair compared to other types of exercise without substantially adding additional wear and tear. 
• Performed in a pain free intensity

Eccentric Contractions:

These are exercises where we focus on the lengthening portion of the movement. For example, you are lifting a weight by bending your elbow (biceps curl), when you lower the weight back down and straighten your arm, that is the eccentric part of the movement. 

• When they are used: When you are able to perform pain free isometric contractions at 75% of your maximal strength. 
• Why they are used: Eccentric focused exercises still stimulate positive tendon repair and allow us to slowly sensitize the tendon to movement. 

Concentric Contractions:

Concentric focused exercises place a higher emphasis on the shortening phase of muscle contraction. 

• When they are used: No increase in symptoms, and continued strength increase while performing eccentric, based exercises. 
• Why they are used: simulate a more real-world application.  Can be done at increasing speeds and frequencies so that the tendon can further adapt to loading at higher rates and changes in direction.