Despite what its name suggests, tennis elbow can affect anyone—not just tennis players. With no clear cause, tennis elbow generally occurs from overuse and repeated movements of the wrist and arm. The pain in your elbow comes from inflammation of the elbow tendons.
Tennis elbow impacts both men and women equally, and can cause discomfort not only during the day, but even into the night. If you have tennis elbow, you’ve probably had many sleepless nights due to the overall discomfort and constant elbow readjustments from your pain.
No one likes waking up tired. Fortunately, physical therapy may help address the physical symptoms and get you back to sleeping peacefully.
6 physical therapy techniques and benefits that may help give you a more restful night
- Diagnostic ultrasound
Diagnostic ultrasound is a safe, noninvasive imaging technique that uses sound waves to create real-time images of your muscles, tendons, and joints—kind of like getting a sneak peek inside your arm without any pain.
If you’re struggling with tennis elbow, this tool can help pinpoint exactly where the inflammation or small tears are happening in your tendons. That means your treatment plan can be tailored to your unique needs instead of relying on guesswork.
By accurately identifying the problem areas, diagnostic ultrasound helps guide your recovery—so you heal smarter, not just harder. It ensures your physical therapy targets the right spots, helping reduce pain, improving your ability to sleep at night and getting you back to doing what you love faster.
- Graston Technique®
Designed to target soft tissue, a physical therapist will take a specialized, stainless steel tool and apply it to your affected elbow area to help ease muscle tension and try to reduce the protective tension around any scar tissue that may be present.
Some studies suggest that instrument assisted therapy, such as the Graston Technique®, may provide positive effects in a shorter period when compared to other manual therapies like massage.
- Joint mobilization
A form of manual therapy, a licensed physical therapist will use their hands to locate the tight tissue in your elbow. Once located, they gently apply pressure to the affected area to help stretch the muscles.
- High velocity/low amplitude techniques
This is a form of manual therapy where a licensed physical therapist will use their hand to manipulate your elbow. They slowly push against your elbow joint until it is as far as it will safely go in one direction, and then quickly push your elbow in the opposite direction.
- Dry needling
A form of soft tissue treatment, a licensed physical therapist will place very thin, sterile needles in your affected elbow areas. The needles help with targeting the trigger points in elbow soft tissue and can release tension in your tight elbow tissue.
- Therapeutic exercises
Licensed physical therapists will often incorporate a variety of stretching and strength based exercises into your recovery plan. Some common stretching and strength-based exercises for tennis elbow include:
- Wrist flexion
- Wrist extension
- Wrist flexion with resistance
- Forearm twists
- Stress ball squeezes
- Finger stretches
These exercises work to strengthen your wrist and forearm, which will help support your elbow and prevent future reinjury. Therapeutic exercises can play an important role in your recovery and may be easily added to your daily routine.
Potential benefits of physical therapy treatments for tennis elbow
- Improving the general range of motion in your elbow by reducing muscle tension
- Reducing muscle weakness in your elbow from limited mobility
- Reducing your elbow’s chronic pain by offering treatments to target inflammation
- Speed up your recovery time
- Increase the flow of blood to your elbow. Increased blood flow can help bring oxygen and other important nutrients to your muscles to speed up your recovery.
Depending on your treatment plan, you may experience many or even all of the above benefits, as many of our treatments may offer similar outcomes. The key is finding out which treatment or combination of treatments will best suit your needs.
Experience the benefits of expert physical therapy for tennis elbow at Forever Fit
Tennis elbow impacts more than just your elbow; it can impact your daily and nightly routine. We want to make sure that your tennis elbow does not go untreated and receives the proper treatment and care.
Forever Fit takes pride in knowing that our team of licensed physical therapists understand that your road to recovery is unique to you. We have many locations in Maryland that offer a variety of physical therapy treatments that can help get you back to sleeping through the night.
Contact Forever Fit today to start your recovery journey and give your body the care it deserves.