What tennis elbow is? And exercises to help with tennis elbow

Athletes often get injured due to different reasons, it can be a fall or overuse of the
muscles. 50% of sports injuries are because of overuse of the muscles. A common
injury among athletes is tennis elbow.
What is tennis elbow
The grasping activities during paddling, climbing, or playing tennis stress the muscles of
the back of the forearm. It causes the lateral epicondylitis, commonly known as tennis
elbow. The tendon that attaches the muscles to the elbow is degenerated, which causes
pain.
Exercises to help with tennis elbow
Following exercises will help you treat tennis elbow.
1-Fist clench
This exercise will strengthen the muscles of the forearm. You will need a towel and
table. The long flexors of your thumb, and fingers, will work in this exercise.
• Take a table and rest your arm on it.
• Take a small ball or a rolled up towel in your hand
• For 10 seconds squeeze the towel in your hand
• Release, and repeat the procedure 10 times on both arms
2-Supination with a dumbbell
The supinator muscles are involved in the movement that leads to your tennis elbow.
Grab a 2 pound dumbbell and a table. In this exercise, you’re going to work the
supinator muscles.
• Take the 2 pound dumbbell vertically in your hand and sit on a chair. Your elbow
should rest on your knees
• Your arm should rotate outwards, turning the palm up with the weight of the
dumbbell.
• Rotate your hand backward in the other direction, until the palm faces
downwards.
• Repeat the exercise 20 times.
• The movement should be isolated to the lower arm, your elbow and upper arm
should be still.
3-Wrist extension

The bending action of your wrist is controlled by the wrist extensors. The small muscles
are connected to the elbow and are subjected to overuse. To perform the exercise you
need a 2 pound dumbbell and a table. Wrist extensors will work in this exercise.
• Hold the 2 pounds dumbbell in your hand, and sit on the chair. Your palm should
face downward and rest the elbow on your knees
• Extend the wrist while curling it towards the body, and assure that your palm is
facing down. You can make it more challenging by performing the movements
without the weight.
• Now return to the starting position and on each side repeat the exercise 10 times
• The movement should be isolated to the wrist, and keep the rest of your arm still.
Bottom line
Before starting any type of exercise program, it is important that you consult a doctor
and a physical therapist. You must get the evaluation done that whether it is an overuse
of the muscles or there is a tendon tear. The specialist will provide you the best
guidance regarding the exercise plan that will heal tennis elbow. If you are feeling pain
or other issues you should stop performing the exercise and let your doctor know.