The short answer is yes, but it is not always straightforward. Let’s dive into the topic a bit deeper to learn which massage styles help the most and what you can do at home to help ease your discomfort.
What Is Tennis Elbow?
If you have ever experienced a painful sensation on the outside of your elbow that just will not ease up on its own, you might have tennis elbow. This condition occurs when the tendons in your elbow have been working overtime, causing inflammation and tiny muscle tears.
Tennis elbow typically develops in people who perform repetitive motions with their arm and wrist, which, as the name suggests, is why it is common among competitive tennis players. You do not have to be a racquet sports enthusiast to experience tennis elbow, though — you can also get it by knocking your arm into something with enough force to strain the tendons.
At Urban Massage and Wellness, our massage practitioners often have clients come into our St. Albert clinic hoping we can help ease the pain and discomfort caused by tennis elbow, which is why we are going to talk about how massage therapy and other remedies can help tame your tennis elbow pain.
How to Soothe Tennis Elbow Symptoms
Common symptoms of tennis elbow typically manifest in the muscle that helps stabilize your wrist when it is straightened. Overworking this muscle can cause pain and inflammation. Common symptoms can include:
- Pain on the outside of your upper forearm below the bend of your elbow
- Pain while lifting or bending your arm
- Difficulty gripping small objects
- Trouble straightening your forearm fully
- Residual pain in the upper arm, shoulder, or neck due to over-compensation
Going through life with symptoms of tennis elbow can be very frustrating and painful, so if you are experiencing any of these symptoms, we encourage you to talk to your doctor about your options for treating tennis elbow.
In the meantime, there are massage techniques our practitioners can perform at Urban Massage and Wellness to provide relief for tight muscles. Tennis elbow pain can also be managed with a good at-home stretching routine and submerging your arms in ice baths to help decrease inflammation. Let’s look at a few of the ways we can help at our St. Albert massage therapy clinic.
Massage Therapy for Tennis Elbow
Our ultimate goal is to help clients feel relaxed, at ease, and comfortable in their bodies. When you are experiencing unrelenting tennis elbow pain, our registered massage therapists can use a number of massage techniques to help provide relief.
- Sports massage addresses muscle strain caused by regular physical activity. We can incorporate stretching, mobility, and resistance training into your appointment to condition over-exerted muscle groups.
- A deep tissue massage can also be effective, as your practitioner may perform a friction massage on your arm to target the tendons along your elbow. This therapy helps reduce the tension that drives pain and tenderness. Deep tissue massage can also break up scar tissue and smooth fascia on the forearm muscles, promoting healing for your arm and wrist.
- Another therapy that may help is myofascial cupping, which can mobilize the connective tissue around the wrist extensor muscles and tendons. Cupping targets the fascia that wraps around the muscles to ease tension caused by overuse.
No matter which type of massage therapy you choose, we recommend taking time to rest and recover before returning to your normal routine. Techniques that work deep into muscles and tendons (like deep tissue work and cupping) can leave you feeling a little sore for a day or two. Take it easy and give your body time to heal.
Stretching for Tennis Elbow Relief
Including stretches during your appointment lets your practitioner ensure you are stretching the right muscle groups for the right amount of time. Our massage practitioners can incorporate many stretches into your session, and we always recommend continuing to stretch at home to prevent muscles from tightening up again.
Combining massage therapy with regular stretching gives your muscles and tendons the support they need to function properly, which may help prevent tennis elbow from returning as intensely.
Other Remedies for Tennis Elbow
Always seek professional medical advice before taking any medications. Doctor-approved medications can provide temporary relief for painful symptoms. Physical therapy, coupled with massage therapy, may also condition overloaded muscles to prevent further injury.
If symptoms recur, consult your doctor to assess the root cause of the pain affecting your forearm and wrist.
Tame Your Tennis Elbow with Massage Therapy in St. Albert
At Urban Massage and Wellness, clients visit our St. Albert massage therapy clinic because our highly trained registered massage therapists have plenty of techniques to help alleviate chronic pain, muscle tightness and tenderness, and anxiety.
Book your next massage therapy appointment online today and experience compassionate care you can count on at Urban Massage and Wellness — St. Albert’s trusted massage therapy clinic for clients in Edmonton, St. Albert, and surrounding areas.
