Tennis Elbow Rehab Secrets

The tennis elbow rehabilitation process is important to strengthen the muscles around the elbow to avoid future tennis elbow episodes. Proper stretches before and after physical activities while using the elbow are crucial to help keep the muscles within the area flexible. I've occasionally forgotten the stretching part before playing tennis and have suffered the effects. The following stretches and strengthening routines are the most effective I've used during the last 30 years of participating in tennis. Basic Stretch: Most physiotherapists will advise you to complete a basic warm-up before doing any stretching. My personal favorite is ten minutes with an exercise bike. If that's not available, jogging in place or jumping jacks also work. The basic stretch is holding your arm straight in front of your chest and gently pulling you fingers toward your chest. I recommend holding the stretch for a 10-20 count and repeating two or three times. Advanced Stretch: I learned the the advanced stretch through the University of Minnesota tennis team's orthopedic specialist. Extend your arm like the basic stretch, but turn your finger out from your body. Then gently pull your fingers toward your chin for the 10-20 count. Repeat 2 or 3 times. Easy Finger Extension: This easy strengthening exercise can be carried out anytime or anyplace if you have a rubber band. Place the rubber band around your fingers and extend them. Your can feel the critical muscles in your upper forearm. I do three sets of 10-20 reps dependent on the size of the rubber band. Wrist Curls: A really efficient way to improve the strength in the muscles around the elbow is simple curls using small weights or possibly a can of veggies from your your pantry. Be sure you begin with smaller weights before you build the elbows strength. Do 2 or 3 sets of 10-20 curls based on the size of the weight.The basic curl is the forearm extending over your knee and just raising and lowering your wrist slowly.A more advanced curl technique would be to hold the weight in a vertical position and twist your wrist back and forth Forearm Curl: The forearm curl is preferred by my club's head tennis professional. Hold the weight vertically in your hand in front of your belly button. Keeping your wrist locked, lift the weight down and up in between your belly button and chest. Deep Massage: When the pain is substantially reduced, my sports doctor recommended massaging the injured part of the elbow with your thumb. He stressed that it is important to use a a lot of pressure during the massage.