28 Dec Do you experience sharp  pains on the outside of your elbow

Do you experience sharp  pains on the outside of your elbow
Do you struggle to grip hold of things because of the pain on the outside of your elbow
Is your elbow pain limiting your ability to work and exercise

If you answered yes to any of the above statements, then you probably have Lateral Elbow Pain ( Lateral Epicondylitis), also commonly known as Tennis Elbow. Here at my Favourite Physio, our Expert Physiotherapists see many people with Lateral Elbow Pain and we get great results with them!

Here are our 3 Top Tips to help you overcome your elbow pain!

1. Avoid aggravating activities and positions.
This means that if lifting dumbbells causes pain STOP IT, if its performing a certain house choir such as dish washing STOP IT. It is important with elbow pain that you avoid the activities that aggravate your elbow pain. So think of what you do that causes your elbow pain and then avoid them. This may mean asking for help or accepting help from others, or it may mean changing how you do some things.

2. Carry things with your palms facing upwards. 
When you grasp objects with your palms facing downwards, you actually increase the stress placed on the outside of your elbow joint which causes more pain. By changing your hand position, and carrying the same objects with your palms facing upwards, you will dramatically reduce the load placed on the outside of your elbow joint, thereby reducing your pain. So if you cannot avoid performing some tasks, changing your palm position will help reduce your elbow pain.

3. Carry things close to your body.
If you have to be carrying bigger objects and boxes as part of your work, then make sure that you hold the boxes close to your body. By doing so, you will be using your biceps muscles in your shoulder rather than your forearm muscles, which will decrease the load placed on your elbow joints, and reduce your elbow pain.

If you have tried the above 3 Top Tips to reduce our elbow pain, and are still struggling with your Lateral Elbow Pain, ring My Favourite Physio on (02) 9790 4233 or DM us @myfavouritephysio to speak to one of our Expert Physiotherapists and find out how we help you overcome your Elbow Pain today!