Stretching exercises in the chronic phase | Stretching exercises for tennis elbow

Stretching exercises in the chronic phase

Stretching exercises are, however, particularly important in the chronic phase of tennis elbow (duration of illness longer than 6 months) of tennis elbow. If the same movement is regularly performed in the forearm, which places a very one-sided strain on the muscles, such as when playing tennis or golf, but also when working at the computer for a long time, it is useful to stretch the muscles as a preventive measure. Under these circumstances, however, it is sufficient to do the exercises once a day.

You should also make sure that you stretch the muscles before all sporting activities and before exercising unaccustomed loads. The purpose of all these stretching exercises is to loosen, lengthen and soften the forearm muscles, which are often tense or even shortened in tennis elbow. This relieves existing pain and reduces the risk of muscle fiber rupture, inflammation or other injuries.

Useful in the acute phase?

In the acute phase of tennis elbow, the tendon attachment of the muscle to the bone is inflamed. This inflammation causes damage to the tendon fibres. This damage is caused by fat accumulation, fibrillation and tears in the tendon fibres.

In the acute phase, the inflamed tendon is very sensitive and the affected muscle is tensed and hardened. Although stretching exercises would relieve and improve muscle tension, they are harmful to the inflamed tendons. Stretching exercises during tennis elbow can cause small tears in the tendon, which can worsen the inflammation and delay healing. Stretching during the acute phase of tennis elbow does not allow the inflammation in the tendon to subside and worsens the prognosis of the disease. Therefore, stretching exercises in the acute phase should be performed very cautiously and cautiously only a few times a day.

Useful in the healing phase?

Once the acute phase of tennis elbow is over and the inflammation has decreased to a lower but chronic level, regular stretching exercises are very useful. The stretching exercises loosen up tension in the affected muscles and keep them flexible. When used regularly, they are able to lengthen any shortened muscles and thus reduce the painful pull on the chronically inflamed tendon attachment. A lower pull means a decrease in inflammatory activity and less pain. Regular, correctly performed stretching exercises in the chronic phase or in the phase of healing in tennis elbow are therefore very useful to improve the symptoms and achieve faster healing.