Exercises for Tennis Elbow

Exercises for tennis elbow are key to relieving elbow pain and making a full recovery. Not only can exercises reduce pain on the outside of your elbow, they can also strengthen the muscles and tendons to make them more resilient. Strengthening the muscles in the forearm keeps tennis elbow from coming back. There’s no doubt this is important to you since tennis elbow can often come and go based on your activities or work tasks.

In this blog I’ll explore an exercise routine for tennis elbow. It’s important to start with certain exercises and add in more difficult exercises as your condition improves. A rehab-focused chiropractor, like myself, can be really helpful at guiding you through an exercise plan for tennis elbow pain. Other chiropractic treatments for tennis elbow pain, like manipulation/mobilization, massage/soft tissue work, and acupuncture/dry needling are key to speeding up recovery as well.

If you’re looking for treatment for tennis elbow, I’d love to help. You can find me at Sentara Therapy Center – Dumfries, VA. If you haven’t read my previous posts where I answer all your FAQ about tennis elbow, make sure you check them out below.

• Treatments for tennis elbow
• Home treatments for tennis elbow pain
• Rehabilitation for tennis elbow
• Medical treatments for tennis elbow
• The best treatment for tennis elbow pain relief
• Evidence for conservative care as the best treatment

Stretches for Tennis Elbow

Stretches for tennis elbow are important for improving elbow and wrist flexibility. Oftentimes, there are tight and painful muscles are a part of the problem with tennis elbow. Here are two stretches for tennis elbow I start my patients with:

Wrist Extensor Stretch

To stretch your wrist extensor muscles put the back of your hand on a table. Keeping your elbow straight, put some pressure into your wrist and lean back slightly. Once you feel a stretch in the back of your forearm, push the back of your hand against the table slightly and hold for 10 seconds. After that relax and take a big breath. Go back into the stretch and try and push a little further. Repeat 5 repetitions 1-2 times/day.

Wrist Flexor Stretch

To stretch your wrist flexor muscles put your palm on a table with your fingers pointing towards yourself. Keeping your elbow straight, put some pressure into your wrist and slightly lean back. Once you feel a stretch in the front of your forearm, push your palm against the table slightly and hold for 10 seconds. After that relax and take a big breath. Go back into the stretch and try and push a little further. Repeat 5 repetitions 1-2 times/day.

Strengthening Exercises for Tennis Elbow

Strengthening exercises for tennis elbow can help restore strength and resilience to painful elbow muscles. Tennis elbow pain will usually continue if the muscles are never strengthened. Strength exercises help the forearm muscles better tolerate the activities you’re doing that are causing pain. There are two strengthening exercises for tennis elbow that I really like to give my patients after stretching the forearm.

Wrist Extensor Strengthening

Rest your forearm on a table or armrest and extend your wrist so your fingers are pointing up. Grip a dumbbell and slowly lower your wrist down slowly over a period of 5 seconds until your knuckles are facing down. Remove the weight, extend your wrist again, and repeat. The dumbbell weight should be light enough that you can do 3 sets of 10 1-2x/day and make your forearm feel fatigued. For most people a good weight is 5-8 lbs, but some may need to use a lighter or heavier dumbbell to get the desired effect.

Wrist Pronation Strengthening

Wrist pronation strengthening can be done using a broomstick or a hammer. Whichever you have, hold onto it at one end with your palm up and elbow straight. The other end should be pointing away from you towards the side. Slowly over 5 seconds, rotate your wrist so you palm faces down and the hammer or broomstick points the opposite direction. Remove the object, go back to the starting position, and repeat. I typically advise my patients to do 3 sets of 10 1-2x/day or until the arm is fatigued.

Dynamic Wrist Strengthening Exercise

Wrist stretches and strengthening exercises often improve symptoms quite a bit. As tennis elbow symptoms get better, I like to continue to challenge the elbow to make it even more resilient. Dynamic wrist strengthening exercises are great at doing this, but need to be introduced at the right time. Doing the exercise below too early can even result in increased elbow pain. I typically have patients do this exercise towards the end of their episode of care and have them continue it at home until their tennis elbow pain is gone.

Tyler Twist Exercise

The Tyler Twist exercise requires a Theraband Flexbar to perform. It comes in various resistance levels, so you have to take a guess on what to use based on how strong your forearm is. I haven’t found any Theraband Flexbar substitutes, so it’s best to buy one and have it available at home or at work.

It may seem difficult at first, but once you get the hang of it it’s simple to do. I’ll describe it as if you have tennis elbow pain in your right elbow. Hold the Flexbar vertically in front of you. The left palm should be on top and facing away from you, and your right palm should be on the bottom facing towards you. Twist it with your left wrist twisting it counterclockwise and your right wrist clockwise. Bring the Flexbar horizontal and in front of you. At this point your right knuckles should be pointing up and your left knuckles should be pointing down. Keep your left wrist still and slowly let the Flexbar unwind your right wrist, over 5 seconds, until your knuckles face down. Perform 3 sets of 10 1-2x/day.

This is the most difficult exercise for tennis elbow but great for strengthening the forearm muscles. If you’re having a hard time learning it, in the video below I teach you how to perform the Tyler Twist.

The Best Exercises for Tennis Elbow

These exercises are some of the best exercises for tennis elbow relief. Most patients I’ve seen see huge improvements with them when they do them frequently. Manipulation/mobilization, massage/soft tissue work, and acupuncture/dry needling get great results when combined with tennis elbow exercises.

If you’re having tennis elbow pain, I’d encourage you to find a rehab-focused chiropractor to help. If the above exercises aren’t helping, there are many other exercises he/she can prescribe. There are many variable that can affect recovery such as:

• How long you’ve had tennis elbow
• Age
• Arm strength
• Work duties
• Whether you had an acute injury

For some, recovery may be slower because of these factors. Remember though, the majority of patients with the right treatments to heal tennis elbow will get better!

Jason Williams DC is a licensed Doctor of Chiropractic with Physical Therapy Modality and Acupuncture privileges. He is a chiropractor in Dumfries, VA at Sentara Therapy Center. Dr. Williams’ clinical expertise is in the evaluation, treatment, and rehabilitation of neuro-musculoskeletal conditions. Specific focuses include spinal, extremity, and sports-related complaints. He brings a patient-first attitude to his treatments and is a proponent of evidence-based and integrative care. See more content and his contact info here. 

The opinions and views are mine personally, and do not necessarily reflect the views of others in the profession, my employer, or organizations that I belong to.