TENNIS ELBOW: ON and OFF the court
If it feels like everyone suddenly has “tennis elbow,” you’re not imagining it. This time of year, we consistently see an influx of lateral elbow pain coming through the studio.
And despite the name, you don’t need to play tennis—or any racket sport—to get it.
What Tennis Elbow Actually Is
Tennis elbow, or lateral epicondylitis, is irritation of the tendons on the outside of the elbow that help extend the wrist and stabilize the forearm during gripping tasks.
The key word here is gripping.
That’s why this condition shows up in far more people than just athletes.
You Don’t Have to Play Tennis to Get Tennis Elbow
We see tennis elbow from a wide range of activities, including:
Weight training (especially heavy gripping or pulling)
Golf and pickleball
Cross-training and functional workouts
Yard work and home projects
But we also see it very frequently from people’s jobs, including:
Hairdressers and stylists
Barbers
Electricians and plumbers
Mechanics and tradespeople
Office workers with heavy mouse and keyboard use
Any activity that requires repetitive gripping, wrist use, or sustained forearm tension can overload the tissue over time.
Why It Often Flares Up “Out of Nowhere”
In many cases, tennis elbow isn’t caused by one single event. It’s more often related to a change:
Exercising more after a break
Increasing frequency or intensity
Returning to work after time off
Taking on new or longer tasks
The tissue may have tolerated a certain workload before—but once the demand increases, pain shows up.
The Challenge When It’s Your Job
If tennis elbow is coming from pickleball or the gym, activity modification is relatively straightforward—you can pause or scale those activities.
When it’s coming from your job, it’s a different story.
You can’t tell a hairdresser not to hold scissors or a barber not to use clippers. In those cases, the goal isn’t “stop everything”—it’s to control what you can.
That often means:
Treating the tissue aggressively
Reducing other unnecessary forearm strain outside of work
Being strategic with rehab and recovery
You may not be able to stop working—but you can stop overloading the tissue everywhere else.
What Treatment Usually Looks Like
For work-related or persistent tennis elbow, the most effective approach is often twice weekly treatment, especially early on.
At Fixxed Studios, this commonly includes:
Instrument-assisted soft tissue work (Graston)
Dry needling
Hands-on manual therapy
Progressive rehab and strengthening exercises
The goal is to reduce pain, improve tissue tolerance, and gradually restore the elbow’s ability to handle load—without shutting your life down.
One Important Reality Check: This Takes Time
This is the part people don’t love hearing—but it’s important.
Tennis elbow almost always takes longer than expected.
While some people improve quickly, many cases take 2–4 months to significantly settle down, especially if:
Symptoms have been present for a while
Work demands can’t be modified
Gripping activities are unavoidable
Improvement is often gradual, not instant. Setting realistic expectations early helps avoid frustration and poor decision-making.
Why “Wait and See” Usually Backfires
Tennis elbow rarely resolves on its own once it’s established. Waiting it out often leads to:
Increased sensitivity
Longer recovery timelines
More compensation and overload elsewhere
Early, targeted treatment almost always leads to better outcomes than hoping it disappears.
The FIXXED Studios Takeaway
Tennis elbow isn’t just a sports injury—it’s a load management problem. The solution isn’t complete rest, and it’s rarely just “doing nothing.”
The key is:
Controlling the controllable
Treating the tissue appropriately
Gradually rebuilding capacity
Whether you’re already feeling the elbow ache or want to prevent it from creeping in, the right plan makes all the difference. At FIXXED - Physical Therapy in Wakefield we are here to help so you don’t get sidelined!
