CONTROL THE BASELINE AGAIN

Having dealt with tennis elbow myself and in my clinical practice, I've seen a lot of variations. In a need to be more generalized and concise, I'll go over the main issues that I've found. For most of you, applying the ideas here will get you out of pain. Even though I sell topical pain relief, I'm really after helping you understand your tennis elbow, so you can be more active, more healthy & enjoy more of what life has to offer. My goal is to return the "care" in healthcare.

• The overarching theme for tennis elbow is musculotendinous strength deficiency. You're basically asking your muscles and tendons to do more than you train for. I think the mistake is calling it "overuse". The truth is that you don't use these soft tissues enough to handle your exercises/movements.
• The second most common issue that I've seen clinically is antagonistic muscle imbalance. Lateral epicondylitis affects mainly forearm musculature. Most of you have weak forearm extensors. I know this. I see it all the time. The truth is that balancing strength capacity of the forearm extensors with the forearm flexors will signal to your brain that the joint is supported.
• The third most common issue is that people think muscle strength and tendon strength are built at the same time. Strong muscles do not necessarily equal strong tendons. There is a slight, but extremely important distinction. The truth is that tendons heal through time under tension. This is why resting is ludicrous in most situations of tennis elbow. Adequate amounts of time under tension (TUT) is how nutrients are absorbed, cellular debris released, and tendinous fibers are repaired.
• The fourth, and this issue is very interesting, is that you have forgotten how to use your elbow in relation to the rest of your arm. This means that your elbow joint is not working in conjunction with the joints above and below it. The truth is that your brain has disintegrated correct movement patterns and you are asking your elbow to compensate for poor movement mechanics. Elbow pain becomes a message to your brain that it needs to coordinate proper movement patterns again.
• I just added a fifth issue. It relates somewhat to the fourth issue. The nerve that innervates the ECRL, ECRB, brachioradialis, supinator, & other extensors is the radial nerve. Poor movement mechanics and lack of ROM causes your brain to create pain during movements where it thinks you may be injured. If you don't practice moving your elbow behind you and you go play tennis while forcing your elbow to compensate for your lack of shoulder mobility, the elbow will scream. The truth is that you need to prove to your brain that your radial nerve can be happy in it's full range of motion, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT IS IN A STRETCHED POSITION!

Now that you have seen the light, you should be able to better assess your injury and appropriately treat lateral epicondylitis for long term pain relief. I'll also link ways that Battle Balm can help you in your treatment/rehabilitation of tennis elbow.