Tennis Elbow Classroom

What causes Golfer's Elbow and Tennis Elbow? What's the insidious process by which repetitive motions, (whether related to work, tennis, golf or gardening ) end up injuring you and causing you so much pain? In this episode we talk about the central role muscles play in causing the injury. (It's no small part!) First of all, Golfer's Elbow and Tennis Elbow are muscle AND tendon injuries… And althou...

Tendon injuries like Golfer's Elbow and Tennis Elbow are notorious for not healing easily or well – But why is that the case? Why are they often so stubborn and challenging to recover from? (This is the big picture view, which we'll build on in later episodes – Honestly, I think I'm a little long-winded in this one!) Get The Tennis Elbow 101 Video Course This podcast episode is part of a mini seri...

Do you have a Tennis Elbow treatment plan? A consistent strategy based on how to – And just as importantly – How NOT to treat it? Here's one based on straight-forward principles of healing and my decade-plus experience successfully treating Golfer's and Tennis Elbow sufferers. Unfortunately, the typical Tennis Elbow treatment protocol tends to be overly focused on alleviating symptoms – Not on hea...

Is your arm or elbow starting to hurt from taking large numbers of selfies? You may have the latest Tech Injury, many have begun to call "Selfie Elbow." (Selfie Elbow is pain in the elbow caused by holding ones arm fully extended and putting one's wrist in an awkward position to snap pictures of oneself over and over – AKA taking "selfie" pics.) This podcast episode still applies, though, whether...

In this podcast Allen Willette from Tennis Elbow Classroom discusses the pros and cons of Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy in the treatment of Golfer's and Tennis Elbow. Including: Whether there's any evidence PRP is an effective treatment, (based on medical studies) Whether it's worth the price – and the pain afterward (also sometimes during the procedure) And whether there are any better alternative...

Do Golfers also get Tennis Elbow? Yes, quite often, in fact. Curiously, a glance at golf magazine websites, medical studies and surveys suggests that not only do golfers get Tennis Elbow, they actually suffer this injury more often than Golfer's Elbow! (Although, statistically, there are many more cases of both injury types among people who don't play tennis or golf!) In this podcast Allen Willett...

Is it completely necessary to stop playing tennis or golf when you have a Tennis Elbow injury? – Or can you "play through it" IF you're careful? And if you decide to take time off to focus on healing and rehab, when is it safe to start playing again? The good news is, although it's probably always wiser to take time off, it is entirely possible to keep playing and still recover, with two caveats:...

Which upper-body exercises should you avoid, stop for the time being or modify when you have a Tennis Elbow injury? Should you use dumbbells or is it better to use barbells? What about muscle isolation; is it better to do more general exercises and avoid getting too specific? In this episode, Allen Willette from Tennis Elbow Classroom covers the following strength-training / weight-lifting questio...

Should you continue working out with weights or doing any kind of upper-body strength-training exercise if you have Tennis Elbow? Does it make any difference what originally caused your injury? – Whether it was originally caused by: Weight lifting in the first place? From playing tennis or golf? From computer use? OR from heavy, physical work? Allen Willette from Tennis Elbow Classroom, answers th...

What's the first thing they tell you to do when you have Tennis Elbow? "Reduce" the inflammation – Right? Well, here's why you can forget all about that!… Inflammation the biggest Tennis Elbow fallacy of all time – And you don't actually have to chase, treat or worry about it. In-depth post, video and podcast here: https://tenniselbowclassroom.com/what-is-tennis-elbow-1/tennis-elbow-tendonitis-inf...

  How long does it take to fully recover from a Tennis Elbow injury? Some injuries seem to only take weeks to heal, while others take months or even years – Why is that? And is there a way to speed up your Tennis or Golfer's Elbow healing process? Full, detailed post with video and podcast: https://tenniselbowclassroom.com/tennis-elbow-treatments/how-long-to-heal-tennis-elbow/

To make a full recovery from your Tennis Elbow injury you'll need several key strengthening / rehab exercises. And in this episode, I cover the three best exercises for Tennis Elbow, which one(s) you should start with, and how taking a more indirect approach may be the best way to ease into your rehab. Because, for some Tennis Elbow sufferers, taking the direct approach that's most often recommend...

What exactly are the goals of Tennis Elbow rehab exercises? There are three key things you're trying to accomplish with resistance exercise when recovering from a Tennis Elbow tendon injury, whether it's Tendinosis, Tendonitis or a tendon tear: Muscle strengthening Tendon remodeling And tendon healing In this podcast we look at each of these important Tennis Elbow exercise goals in detail. And for...

There's a lot of talk about the idea of using 'Eccentric Exercise' in Tennis Elbow rehab – But can one type of muscle contraction be that much more effective in your tendon healing? Or is the eccentric approach (and the "FlexBar" rubber bar device often used to perform it) just another exercise fad? (An 'Eccentric' contraction is the controlled lengthening of a muscle against resistance – Vs. the...

The exercises you need for Tennis Elbow rehab are easy enough to learn – The hard part is knowing when to do them. When done at the right time, exercises should help your recovery – But, done at the wrong time, they can make your injury worse, unfortunately! Is the right approach to: Rest for some weeks before starting exercises? Do you need to wait for inflammation to go down first? Or is it best...

When it comes to Tennis Elbow treatment advice, you almost always hear how important it is to "Rest it as much as possible while it heals!" But, unfortunately, the idea that healing will "just happen" while you're resting, hoping and waiting is a major misconception when it comes to tendon injuries. Learn why "You should rest it!" is not very useful advice when treating tendon problems like Tennis...

Corticosteroid Injections: Powerful Medicine - But At What cost? In the treatment of Tennis Elbow, the Cortisone shot is the go-to quick fix, often instantly erasing pain, almost like magic – But at what cost? Do Corticosteroid injections offer any tangible, lasting benefits to the healing process of your Tennis Elbow? Or is Cortisone a damaging mistake – little more than a deceptive mirage lullin...

Although it may be recommended by your Doctor, there are several key reasons why a support, brace or splint may NOT be a sensible treatment for your Tennis Elbow after all. Unless pain relief in the short term is a higher priority for you than healing and recovery in the long term. This is an important question we often neglect to consider in the rush of doing something to ease the pain: Will it a...

Should you use ice, "Cryotherapy" or the RICE Protocol to treat your Tennis Elbow or Golfer's Elbow? Actually, no – Despite what many experts and authorities claim – Learn why icing does NOT help your tendon injury heal and how this treatment can actually slow your recovery instead of aiding it. Full article on Ice and Tennis Elbow