The elbow is a joint that people use to make lifting movements with the arm, and it also plays a role in twisting the forearm and hand. These movements become much harder and more painful when you have tennis elbow. Also called lateral epicondylitis, this condition occurs when the tendons in the outside of your elbow become inflamed, and the injury is typically caused by repetitively moving the elbow. There are some exercises that can help speed up the healing of lateral epicondylitis. However, there are three exercises you should avoid if you have tennis elbow.
1.  Pushups
Pushups are a very popular body-weight exercise. However, this exercise is one that you should definitely avoid if you have tennis elbow. Pushups are designed to work your triceps, pectorals and shoulders, but you will have to bend your elbows repeatedly to do them. This means that you’ll be increasing the strain on already injured elbow tendons.
2.  Chin-ups
Another common exercise people should avoid when recovering from tennis elbow is chin-ups. This exercise typically involves pulling your body weight up using your arm, shoulder and back muscles, and many people consider this exercise to be an excellent addition to a workout. However, it does place a lot of stress on the elbow tendons, which is one reason it’s a no-go if you have tennis elbow. It also involves repetitive elbow movements, which is another strike against the chin-up.
3.  Dumbbell wrist curls
Difficult body-weight exercises like chin-ups and pushups aren’t the only ones tennis elbow sufferers should avoid. There are even some seemingly easy exercises that you may want to shy away from until you heal. An example of such an exercise is the dumbbell wrist curl. The main reason to avoid this exercise is that it’s specifically designed to work the muscles of the forearm, and these are the exact muscles that are attached to your injured elbow tendons.
Find out about exercises beneficial to tennis elbow at Whatcom Physical Therapy
It’s true that some exercises should be avoided if you have tennis elbow. However, Whatcom Physical Therapy can show you therapeutic exercises that can help you heal more quickly. Such exercises are likely to be a part of the personalized treatment plan we create for you, and this treatment plan may also include other beneficial therapy methods such as:
Take the next step to start getting our help for your elbow injury. Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment.
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