Elbow and Hand - Performance Plus

Whats the best way to treat tennis elbow?

Posted on May 8, 2023April 4, 2024 by admin

Tennis elbow, also known as lateral epicondylitis, is a common condition that affects people who frequently use their forearms, wrists, and hands. It causes pain and tenderness on the outer part of the elbow, and can limit a person’s ability to perform everyday tasks or participate in sports activities.

At our physiotherapy clinic, we understand the impact that tennis elbow can have on a person’s quality of life. That’s why we offer personalized treatment plans that are designed to relieve pain, restore function, and prevent future injuries.

In this blog post, we’ll discuss the causes, symptoms, and treatment options for tennis elbow, and provide some tips on how to prevent it from happening in the first place.

Causes of Tennis Elbow

Tennis elbow is caused by overuse of the forearm muscles and tendons that attach to the lateral epicondyle, a bony bump on the outer part of the elbow. The repeated stress on these tissues can lead to microtears, inflammation, and pain.

Some of the activities that can lead to tennis elbow include:

Playing racquet sports like tennis, squash, or badminton
Lifting weights or doing other repetitive arm motions in the gym
Using power tools or gardening equipment
Typing or using a computer mouse for extended periods of time

Symptoms of Tennis Elbow

The most common symptom of tennis elbow is pain and tenderness on the outer part of the elbow. The pain may radiate down the forearm and be aggravated by gripping or twisting motions. Other symptoms may include:

Weakness in the affected arm
Stiffness in the elbow joint
Difficulty with fine motor tasks like writing or buttoning clothes
Numbness or tingling in the fingers

Treatment Options for Tennis Elbow

There are several treatment options for tennis elbow, depending on the severity of the condition and the patient’s individual needs. Some of the most common treatments include:

Rest and ice: Resting the affected arm and applying ice to the elbow can help reduce inflammation and pain.
Physical therapy: A physiotherapist can prescribe exercises and stretches to help strengthen the forearm muscles and improve flexibility.
Brace or splint: Wearing a brace or splint can help support the elbow and reduce stress on the affected tissues.
Medications: Over-the-counter pain relievers like ibuprofen or acetaminophen can help manage pain and inflammation.
Injections: In some cases, a corticosteroid injection may be recommended to reduce inflammation and pain.

Preventing Tennis Elbow

Preventing tennis elbow involves reducing the risk of overuse injuries to the forearm muscles and tendons. Some tips for preventing tennis elbow include:

Using proper technique: When playing sports or lifting weights, use proper form and technique to reduce stress on the forearm muscles and tendons.
Strengthening exercises: Incorporating forearm strengthening exercises into your workout routine can help improve muscle endurance and reduce the risk of injury.
Taking breaks: If you do activities that involve repetitive arm motions, take frequent breaks to rest your muscles and avoid overuse injuries.
Using proper equipment: Using the correct size and weight of sports equipment, like tennis racquets or golf clubs, can help reduce stress on the forearm muscles and tendons.

Conclusion

Tennis elbow can be a painful and frustrating condition, but with the right treatment and prevention strategies, it can be managed effectively. At our physiotherapy clinic, we offer personalized treatment plans that are tailored to each patient’s individual needs. If you’re experiencing pain or stiffness in your elbow, don’t hesitate to contact us to schedule a consultation. If you would like an appointment to have your elbow assessed, call us on 9815 2555 or book online here

The Importance of Doing Your Physiotherapy to get Optimal Recovery

Posted on April 17, 2023April 4, 2024 by admin

Physiotherapy exercises are a vital component of any rehabilitation program, and they are designed to help individuals recover from injuries or illnesses that have affected their mobility, strength, and overall quality of life. While it may be tempting to skip these exercises or only do them occasionally, there are several compelling reasons why you should prioritize them and make them a regular part of your daily routine.

Improve Range of Motion and Flexibility

Physiotherapy exercises can help you regain your range of motion and flexibility, which is crucial for maintaining good physical health. When you have an injury or illness that affects your ability to move, your muscles and joints can become stiff and rigid. Physiotherapy exercises can help to loosen these areas up and allow you to move more freely, which can help to reduce pain and discomfort.

Strengthen Muscles and Improve Stability

Many physiotherapy exercises are designed to strengthen your muscles and improve your overall stability. This can be particularly important if you have suffered an injury or illness that has left you weak or unsteady on your feet. By working on these areas through targeted exercises, you can improve your strength and balance, which can help to prevent further injuries and improve your overall quality of life.

Reduce Pain and Discomfort

Physiotherapy exercises can also help to reduce pain and discomfort in the body. This is achieved through a variety of techniques, including stretching, massage, and strengthening exercises. By targeting specific areas of the body that are causing pain or discomfort, you can help to alleviate these symptoms and improve your overall sense of well-being.

Speed up Recovery Time

When you have an injury or illness, the recovery process can be long and frustrating. However, by incorporating physiotherapy exercises into your daily routine, you can speed up your recovery time and get back to your normal activities more quickly. This is because physiotherapy exercises are designed to target the specific areas of the body that need attention, which can help to speed up the healing process.

Prevent Future Injuries

One of the most important benefits of physiotherapy exercises is their ability to prevent future injuries. By strengthening your muscles, improving your range of motion, and enhancing your stability, you can reduce your risk of getting injured again in the future. This can be particularly important for athletes and individuals who are prone to injury, as it can help to keep them healthy and active for longer.

In conclusion, there are many compelling reasons why you should make physiotherapy exercises a regular part of your daily routine. Whether you are recovering from an injury or illness or simply looking to improve your overall physical health, these exercises can help you to achieve your goals and live your best life. So, don’t skip your physiotherapy exercises – your body will thank you for it!

Have you just had elbow surgery?

Posted on September 16, 2021April 4, 2024 by admin

Download our post surgery handbook for all pre and post surgery information.

Download

Section 1: Pre-Operative Information

Section 2: Basic Elbow Anatomy: Which tissues may be involved?

Section 3: Indications for elbow surgery: Why operate?

Section 4: Elbow Surgery: What does it involve?

Section 5: Elbow Arthroscopy and CPM

Section 6: Post Operative Recovery & Rehabilitation

The Best Way to Treat Golfers Elbow?

Posted on May 6, 2021April 4, 2024 by admin

Do you experience pain when performing gripping tasks such as washing your hair and holding a pan?

These are an indication of golfer’s elbow. Golfer’s elbow is also known as ‘medial epicondylitis’. Golfer’s elbow usually comes on gradually over time and is an uncomfortable niggle in the morning or with aggravating activities before it develops into a painful injury causing loss of function. Most elbow movements will be pain-free, however specific gripping movements are often painful such as swinging a golf club.

Golfer’s elbow is not an inflammatory condition. It can have some inflammation originally; however, it is a tendinopathy condition which is generally caused by overuse of these specific muscles. Small degenerative changes occur in the common tendon of these flexor muscles which produces the pain.

Rehab is critical for this condition to prevent further degenerative changes which are unable to be reversed. Specific exercises and a gradual loading program are often successful with individuals suffering golfer’s elbow.

Immediate management involves avoidingactivities that exacerbate pain in the area, especially those that require repetitive wrist flexion (bending wrist forwards) and forearm pronation (palm facing downwards to the ground). However, rest is NOT the answer. Decreasing load is important, however complete rest will slow down your recovery and reproduce symptoms as soon as you commence flexion activities again.

Icing can alleviate pain as well as decrease swelling if this is present. Icing should also be undertaken following every strengthening session throughout rehab.

Applying massage to the muscles on the inside of the forearm can help reduce tension and tightness in these muscles. This will improve their function which long term should help reduce the strain on the tendon at the elbow.

Strengthening exercises to help manage Golfer’s elbow

As with tennis elbow, it is normal to feel some pain during and/or after rehab sessions, however it is best to scale the degree of pain. 0 is no pain at all and 10 is excruciating pain. The pain felt throughout rehab and exercise should not be more than 3/10. In addition, pain should not be worse the following morning or 24 hours after your session. If this is the case the tendon has been overloaded.

The below 2 exercises are a good starting point to decrease your pain. They shoulder be performed 3-5 times per day.

Isometric wrist flexion for 30 seconds (see below)
Isometric grip strength for 30 seconds

These can eventually be progressed to exercises such as:

Eccentric wrist flexion
Eccentric-concentric wrist flexion

For more advice and treatment on golfer’s elbow or elbow pain come and visit one of our physiotherapists at Glenferrie Sports and Spinal Clinic in Hawthorn. We will have you performing functional activities and returning to sport as soon as possible following a rehabilitation and gradual loading program tailored to your needs.

Why Rehabilitation is just like a Fairytale!

Posted on November 20, 2020April 4, 2024 by admin

The three bears find Goldie locks asleep in a bed.

Rehabilitation is a complex thing but just like the fairytale Goldilocks and the Three Bears, if you get it just right it can be quite simple.

Just like Goldilocks, finding a fair middle ground is best. I find that the people who go too hard with their exercises do the worst at rehab. All you are doing is stirring up the inflammation which just makes you like a bear with a sore head!

Doing nothing will mean you get sore and stiff. Weakness will soon follow and you will soon be as stable as a house of sticks! We all know how that one ends.

But how do you find the happy ground?

What is the holy grail of rehabilitation?

Unfortunately there is no magic bean to guide us here. Everyone is different. Each day presents different challenges and as time goes on our ability to push harder improves.

Accommodation is the process in which progressive overloading of the bodies structures causes them to strengthen in the patterns in which we move. It’s a vital part of rehabilitation but it needs to be done in conjunction with the natural rates of healing.

Soft tissues generally take about 6 weeks to heal.

Bones, 6- 12 weeks depending upon where they are in the body.

Tendons with their poorer blood supply take ages (up to 12 months).

Throw in age, activity, co morbidities and we get a really complex matrix beginning to form.

Then there’s pain!

Pain is amongst other things physical, chemical, social, psychological. It’s a bit like the seven dwarfs.

How we react and perceive these things will influence how we perceive and react to pain. This is why no two recoveries are the same.

Physios like to talk about good pain and bad pain.

Good pain is more like a stretching and working pain and its generally something tolerable and can be encouraged. It will settle fairly soon following workouts.

Bad pain is more searing and stabbing. It typically doesn’t settle so well and may last overnight and the next day. We like to avoid this pain.

So now you know the variables for recovery, how do you find the best option for you?

Firstly listen to your body. It will tell you how it’s feeling; you just need to learn how to listen to it. When starting with rehab, taste test first.

Start slowly.

See how you recover and if it pulls up well, then next time you exercise you can do a little more.

Be careful because it’s sometimes not sore until you’ve finished and by then its too late. Sooner or later you will learn how the area reacts and you will be able to predict how much to do with more certainty.

Rehab is not linear. Especially not in its micro form. Patients often don’t realise the progression they are making. It’s a bit like watching grass grow. You’ll find others will see your progression more than you. Comments like “you are moving much better” are common.

Working with your physiotherapist is really helpful to help you progress with your rehabilitation. See them more as your teacher or coach who will guide you through the weeks or months in order to get you back to all your normal activities. They will help to remind you that you are on track, when to push harder or when to back off. They are skilled to understand the time frames for recovery and when to commence working different structures following injury or an operation. They understand the “just right in between” balance you’ll need to find.

Finger Injuries

Posted on June 16, 2020April 4, 2024 by admin

Glenferrie Sports and Spinals Hand Therapist Hamish Anderson discusses finger injuries and the importance of early management to promote quick return to function

watch Hamish Anderson talk on finger injuries

Glenferrie Sports and Spinal Clinic is located in Hawthorn. Situated conveniently near public transport and with convenient parking it is central to Camberwell, Kew, Richmond, Toorak and Malvern.

For appointments call 03 9815 2555, or book online here

FINGER PAIN

Posted on June 6, 2020April 4, 2024 by admin

Glenferrie Sports and Spinals Hand Therapist Hamish Anderson discusses finger injuries and how to manage them.

So you were kicking the footy, or bouncing a basketball, when the ball collected the end of your finger and it really hurt. Now your finger is swollen and hurts to move. What do you do?

How do I treat my finger pain?

Well what you do actually depends on two things.

Did the joint dislocate or pop out of place?
Can you bend and straighten the affected joint now?

If the answer to question one is YES (but the finger is now in place and you can move it again without it popping out) or NO, then it is likely that you will be okay with a bit of care from a hand therapist and some time.

Light compression and ice may help with the swelling. You may need an x-ray to confirm that the joint is in the right spot and that you don’t have a bad fracture. Buddy taping may be sufficient, or you may need to wear a splint. Having some time off sport and learning how to protect the finger may also be important. The hand therapist can assist you with that.

If the answer to question one is YES but you are not certain the joint is back in place, and your movement is affected, then you will need to get an xray immediately. You may need help to re-locate the joint, and you will almost certainly need help to get the finger moving again. In any case, you must get clear advice as to what is going on with the joint.

If the answer to question two is NO, then what happens next depends very much on A.) which joint is affected and B.) what structure is injured. This is easy to determine in the clinic, less so on Google. So I’d suggest you have a professional look at the finger immediately. Your hand therapist can help with this and will let you know exactly what needs to be done.

If the answer to question two is YES, then the fact that you are looking for help would indicate that a visit to the hand therapist is warranted. He or she can advise you on exercises, how to protect the joint so that it heals strongly, and all the do’s and don’ts associated with recovery.

Finger injuries are often ignored, with the result that a preventable problem becomes a painful and chronic reality. These injuries are not only painful but they can have long lasting repercussions. Your hands help you interact with the world and deserve to be looked after. We can help with that so that the next time a bouncing ball comes your way you are ready!

Glenferrie Sports and Spinals Hand Therapist is centrally located and centrally in Hawthorn servicing Surrounding suburbs Kew, Richmond, Camberwell, Toorak, Malvern and Collingwood. For appointments with Hamish call 03 9815 2555 or book online www.glenferriessc.com.au

Causes of Tennis Elbow

Symptoms of Tennis Elbow

Treatment Options for Tennis Elbow

Preventing Tennis Elbow

Conclusion

Improve Range of Motion and Flexibility

Strengthen Muscles and Improve Stability

Reduce Pain and Discomfort

Speed up Recovery Time

Prevent Future Injuries

How do I treat my finger pain?

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