As the summer begins to come into form and various states are easing Covid-19 restrictions in light of progress made by residents, more of you will begin to hopefully take advantage of the great weather and outdoor activities Chicago offers. These sports will include golf, and tennis in addition to summer beach volleyball (of 10 or fewer participants hopefully).

You can participate and enjoy these sports with friends or family knowing your risk is low as long guidelines are followed to prevent transmission of Covid-19. When playing the sports listed above, one can suffer tennis elbow, better known, as medial epicondylitis, from overuse due to repetitively striking a golf ball, tennis ball, or volleyball. More often, people think tennis elbow is associated with tennis, but it is not. This article will address how Active Release Techniques (ART) treats this injury successfully.

Considering tennis, golf, or volleyball are all repetitive sports, tennis elbow generally occurs from overuse of the tendons on the outer part of the upper forearm. Inflammation and swelling can irritate the tendons making it difficult to bend, straighten, or rotate your elbow/forearm.

When you visit a sports chiropractor or especially one certified in ART, you should maintain confidence that your injury will be diagnosed properly and a treatment plan reasonable for your injury will be established to ensure proper healing and to minimize time away from your sport/activity. ART providers will not only identify the muscles/tendons involved with your tennis elbow, but also, determine any compensation through the shoulder, spine, and/or wrist, to avoid injury here as well. ART providers should assess mechanics of how one strikes a golf ball, volleyball, or tennis ball to properly identify how one’s injury occurred.

Rehab will likely be a complementary component of one’s care to ensure that you stabilize the elbow and affected nearby areas once your pain decreases and your function improves. Also, if seeing a chiropractor who is certified in ART, he/she will manipulate likely your elbow, wrist, shoulder and/or spine to improve mobility and range of motion. Several treatments may be needed to address your tennis elbow based on how long you have suffered this. Generally, the longer you wait to address this, the longer it may take for your injury to heal.

Contacting an ART provider with experience in treating tennis elbow are critical to improving your outcomes much faster. Do not wait until you are deeper into summer to address an injury that began in spring/early summer as it will likely impact your ability to play and have fun this summer. Stay safe!

Brian Marion DC, CCSP, ART, CKTP

Lincoln Park Chiropractic 2202 N. Lincoln Ave Suite 1 Chicago, Il 60614

(773)248-2790 https://lincolnparkchiropractic.com