When you have injured yourself with tennis elbow, it can be more than a little frustrating. Not only are you in pain, you are limited in your mobility. This can make it difficult to do all of the things that you love the most – and you may start to fall behind on your personal goals.
What Happens With Tennis Elbow
Tennis elbow is named as such because it happens often within the game of tennis. It involves the tendons in your elbow becoming overloaded, and when this happens, it can be extremely painful. It is often caused as a result of repetitive motions in the wrist and arm.
You don’t have to play tennis or even be athletic to develop tennis elbow at any time. It is common for those who do the same motions over and over again – butchers, painters, plumbers, and many others.
The pain is usually in the forearm muscles, all the way up to the outside of your elbow. Depending upon how strenuous the strain is, it may also spread into the rest of your arm.
There is not any kind of surgery that can be done on a typical case of tennis elbow. It is simply one of those issues that require rest. You can even throw in some over-the-counter pain relievers, if you want, just as a way of helping to relieve the pain a little bit more.
Rest, Who Wants Rest?
You are ambitious. You love to be active, and this means that the last thing you want to do is rest. You may want to get right back to work, or back on the tennis court. Regardless of what it is that you do, staying still and not using the arm may be something that is extremely difficult for you. This means that you need to find a solution.
You may feel extremely limited by the recovery process. You feel as though your whole world is out of sync, and this is because you can’t do what you are used to doing.
If you work long hours in a stressful job, you may depend on going to the tennis courts or doing another sport in order to relieve stress. If you don’t have this outlet because you are currently in recovery, a significant amount of anxiety may build. What are you supposed to do about this?
Even the doctor says that you should rest. There is no overnight cure for tennis elbow, and this means that you need to listen. It is not going to be easy, but the only way that your elbow and arm is going to heal is if you stop putting the strain on the tendons. Otherwise, you could end up causing yourself permanent damage and suffer even more pain than you are suffering now.
Self-Treating
It can be difficult to sit around and nurse your tennis elbow until you are better to play or work again. Various braces and supports can allow you to self-treat so that you can get back in the game faster.
There are all sorts of different options, however. Some feature a brace to be placed just below the elbow, others wrap around the entire elbow, while others are compression arm sleeves. How do you know which one is right for you? You don’t want to spend a small fortune investing in all of the different sports products in hopes that one is going to make you feel better.
This means that you should visit a doctor in order to learn exactly what is going on. This way, you can find out whether you do in fact have tennis elbow, or if there is something else going on.
After that, you can choose to read through the descriptions on the various products so that you can determine where you want to apply compression, and what areas of the arm you will have exposed. This will allow you to gain the mobility that you need in order to hit the courts faster – or anything else that you may do.
Tennis elbow treatments vary from person to person. However, when you can find braces and supports that have adjustable straps, it allows you to control the compression and get the support that you need.
Using A Brace Or Support
Once you find a support or brace to serve as a tennis elbow treatment, you can start to get your life back. Whether you go back to work, back on the tennis courts, or back to whatever activity you love, it can be possible. You simply need to make sure that your elbow is receiving sufficient support.
The whole reason you are in this mess is because the tendons in your elbow have been overloaded. You have been completing the same movement over and over again, and your elbow has essentially raised hands and said “Enough!”
This doesn’t mean that you have to stop everything. However, you need to go at a slower pace so that you don’t accidentally overextend your elbow again. You don’t want to be in pain even more so than you are right now. This means that you need to find a way to limit the way in which you move your elbow. This is why using a brace or support can be beneficial. It allows you to continue with your life without forgetting that your elbow is still in recovery.
Depending upon the brace or support that you choose, it simply will not allow you to move the elbow in a way that could be dangerous. It can also provide you with a significant amount of support so that you don’t move in a careless fashion.
Neoprene is a common material used within the braces as well, and this helps to increase circulation. The material will enhance elbow flexibility and also promote healing. Any time that you can get a push in the right direction for healing, it’s going to be of benefit to you.
Finding The Right Treatment
Self-treating tennis elbow is more common than you might think. You may not have the time to go to a doctor, or your doctor has told you that there is nothing that they can do. This doesn’t mean that there is absolutely NOTHING that you can do, however. With the help of a brace or support, you can get back out there and do the things that you love without causing further damage to your body.
You’re a fighter. You don’t want to be down for the count while you’re in recovery mode, so that’s why you have to look outside the box. Depending upon the extent of your tennis elbow injury, various supports are available so that you can purchase these, adjust the straps, and get a comfortable fit. You can then go about your life as though nothing happened. The support will keep your elbow in position, and ensure that you don’t hurt yourself in the process.
There is no reason for you to be out of sync just because of an injury. Tennis elbow can hurt, but it may hurt your ego even more if you have to dismiss yourself from the activities that you love.
Contact Mueller Sports Medicine today to learn more about tennis elbow treatment.