The French Open has been alive with excitement for the past two weeks and whats even more exciting is that there is still Wimbledon and the U.S. Open this summer to watch. The summer season is true a great season for tennis lovers.
Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novac Djokovic, and Maria Sharapova among others will all be fighting to win another Grand Slam and we, as viewers, get to enjoy all the excitement.
As Tennis lover, when the weather is warm, we love to get out there and play but unfortunately getting back into a sport can lead to an injury from over use of the muscles. One common injury is tendonitis in the elbow also known as Tennis Elbow. For golfers, this is known as Golf Elbow.
Tennis elbow involves straining and inflaming the Lateral Epicondylitis causing tremendous pain while Golfer’s elbow normally involves straining the Medial Epicondylitis. Either way, both prevent mobility and the ability to continue playing.
If you are having such pain, two things are fully recommended. The first involves ice and rest. You want to make sure you do not inflame and worsen the condition anymore so that your elbow can begin the healing process. The next important thing is Physical Therapy. A physical therapist is able to provide an individualized treatment plan for your elbow including massage, stretching and exercise that works to decrease pain and swelling and increase strength and flexibility.
Two Helpful Exercises:
Physical therapy is what gets you back to the point where you can play without hurting yourself again. On thing that you can do to help ease the pain is by massaging over the soreness of the area. Apply firm pressure using two fingers on the painful area and rub for five minutes.
Another exercise that you can do is strengthen the muscles that twist the wrist. Hold a weight (any small weight) in your hand with your thumb point up. Then turn the wrist inward as far as possible and then outward as far as possible. Hold for two seconds and repeat as much as the pain will allow. Repeat up to 50 repetitions.
Cross Bay Physical Therapy is located in Howard Beach, Queens. Call (718) 835-0084 to schedule an appointment and we can help to heal that elbow so you can get back to the sport you love this summer.
By Benjamin Bieber