Can Chiropractic Care Help with Tennis Elbow?

Although common in those who play racket sports, tennis elbow can also be seen as a workplace injury, affecting anyone who repetitively uses their arms to perform an activity. This includes swimmers, carpenters, plumbers, and painters.

If you’re experiencing a painful, numb, or weak elbow region after engaging in repetitive arm movements or overuse of your elbow joint, you may be having tennis elbow. And here’s what you need to know about chiropractic care and tennis elbow.

Tennis Elbow: The Signs and Symptoms

Also known as lateral epicondylitis, its symptoms often include a weak grip strength and pain or a burning sensation that starts in the elbow and extends to the outside of your arm into the wrist and forearm. As a result, it becomes difficult and painful to type on a computer, life something, open a door, or grip an object.

In some cases, the affected elbow may appear larger and swollen than the other elbow and your arm may feel sore or stiff when you try extending it. You may also feel numbness in your neck and hands.

The burning sensation or pain is usually a result of inflammation of your forearm muscles— particularly those that are attached to your elbow— because of repetitive stress placed on them. As with other medical conditions, the symptoms associated with tennis elbow can vary in severity and scope.

Thankfully, chiropractic care can help alleviate all the symptoms you’re experiencing from tennis elbow through an all-natural and non-invasive approach.

Chiropractic Care for Tennis Elbow

In preparation for the initial chiropractor consultation, you may be requested to fill out some forms that provide background information about your condition and the symptoms you’ve been experiencing. Plus, you may be asked to provide information on your familial and personal medical history or prior injuries.

Your chiropractor will then do a thorough physical examination of your wrist, forearm, and elbow to determine exactly where the pain is coming from. For more accurate diagnosis— and to rule out other conditions or injuries— they may consider running diagnostic imaging tests like CT scans or X-Ray.

Once a diagnosis has been made, your chiropractor will create a personalized therapy program that will provide pain relief and help improve the functioning of your elbow. Chiropractic treatment options may include:

● Reducing Inflammation. As mentioned, tennis elbow is an overuse injury that develops after the forearm muscles attached to your elbow become inflamed due to repetitive activity. Chiropractic adjustments to your wrist and elbow can decompress and mobilize your forearm muscles and joints, thereby restoring blood flow and reducing inflammation in the affected area.

● Providing Pain Relief. A misalignment in your elbow, even by a fraction, can introduce undue stress on your forearm ligaments, causing a lot of pain. By restoring proper alignment of your forearm and elbow, chiropractic care helps relax ligaments and muscles, reducing pain and encouraging proper joint movement.

● Wellness Care. Through wellness sessions, your chiropractor can evaluate your diet and recommend healthy foods and fruits that your body needs to better heal itself. They may also suggest unhealthy foods that you should remove from your diet to reduce inflammation in your body.

Finally, your chiropractor will likely recommend that you practice proper technique when performing repetitive movements and activities or during sports that may have contributed to your tennis elbow.