If you have sharp pain on the outside of your elbow every time you grab a coffee mug or turn a doorknob, you’ve likely heard the term “Tennis Elbow.” The irony? Most people I see with this condition haven’t picked up a racket in years.
Technically called lateral epicondylitis, it’s really just a fancy way of saying the tendons in your forearm are overworked. Whether it’s from hours of typing, heavy lifting at the gym, or just a weekend of DIY projects, those tendons eventually hit a breaking point.
Why “just resting it” usually fails: A lot of people wait weeks for the pain to vanish on its own, but tennis elbow isn’t just simple inflammation that “cools off.” It’s a load-management issue. The tendon has lost its ability to handle stress, and the only way to fix that is through specific, gradual strengthening—not just sitting on the couch.
How we actually get it moving again: Recovery isn’t just about doing a few wrist curls. It’s about:
- Pinpointing exactly which movements are triggering the flare-up.
- Using manual therapy to calm the area down.
- Building a progressive plan to “re-teach” the tendon how to handle weight.
If that “twinge” has been sticking around for more than two weeks, it’s probably time to stop guessing and start a plan that actually works.