How to Deal With Tennis Elbow Pain?

Among the sports injuries, tennis elbow is one of the most painful conditions that athletes would want to avoid.

Tennis elbow pain is a result of repetitive stress on the tendons in the forearm. Tennis elbow pain is not only experienced by tennis players; in fact, people whose occupation require them to do constant gripping or hammering can also suffer from tennis elbow pain. Individuals who carry or lift too heavy objects in one hand or cause repeated actions that strains the ligaments on the outside of the elbow are also prone to tennis elbow.

Tennis elbow is definitely debilitating, the condition can last as much as six to 12 weeks making it difficult to hold even small objects such as a pen. The pain radiates down the arm to the wrist; thus, the arms can be very painful when bended or straightened due to the damage inflicted on the tendons.

There are many alternatives to treat tennis elbow which can prevent the condition from recurring. The very first step in relieving tennis elbow pain is to stop activities that cause it. Avoid any form of stretching or exercise that could complicate tennis elbow. Typically, doctors often advise tennis players to stop playing for at least three weeks until tennis elbow pain has been treated.

To hasten the healing process,you can also try using some capsaicin cream that can diminish the pain for some time. According to studies, capsaicin stops the pain receptors that send pain messages to the brain. In a way, people are relieved from pain and inflammation even for a short period so they can still do other things.

Applying ice on the affected area is also a good way of managing the swelling and pain so people feel much better. Use an ice bag, place ice in a zip bag (a bag of frozen vegetables would do) and apply to the affected area for no more than 15 minutes. It does takes time to fully recover from tennis elbow pain so patience is needed. Healing from an injury has no short-cut; in fact, people speed up their recovery by being positive and patient about the whole situation and allowing their body to heal naturally.