If you happen to have been diagnosed with a condition known as tennis elbow, then you already know how unbearable this injury is. Tennis elbow, also known as lateral epicondylitis, is basically an inflammation of your muscles and tendons on the outside of the elbow. There are many ways for you to ease the symptoms of this painful injury and ultimately improve the function of your arm. Here listed are some of the treatment options available for you. If you need to find out how to cure tennis elbow, these tips can bring you some relief.
Some over-the-counter headache medications, such as Motrin or Advil (ibuprofen), or Tylenol (acetaminophen), are not just for pain. They are effective anti-inflammatory agents as well, and can help alleviate the swelling and tenderness of your elbow. (Be sure to follow the label directions.)
But the best way for you to treat your tennis elbow is to simply rest your arm. This might seem too simplistic, but more often than not, this is just what would be recommended for a repetitive stress injury such as tennis elbow. A lot of people these days lead such hectic lifestyles, putting tremendous strain on both their mental and physical health, while leaving them too busy to rest and heal. But if you are able to give your body (and arm, of course) the rest it needs, you can recover from your injury in perhaps a few weeks.
The use of compression is also a suggested way to deal with your condition. When it comes to compression, what you basically do is to wrap the affected arm with an ACE bandage, brace or similar product, so you can stabilize and apply pressure along the given area. This will not just help promote healing of your injured arm, but it will also lessen the possibility of re-injuring or aggravating it.
Another effective tennis elbow treatment involves the use of ice. If you are plagued by tennis elbow, your tendons and tissues will get sore and inflamed. By simply applying an ice pack along the affected area, you can help reduce the swelling as well as the pain and encourage natural healing to take place.
You can also keep your injured arm elevated as much as you possibly can while resting it. By keeping your arm elevated above heart level, you can lessen the pressure of internal fluids surrounding your injury.