What is Tennis Elbow pain and how can we ease it?
When most people hear tennis elbow, they visualise Wimbledon, but you don’t need to be on the court to develop this painful condition. In fact, many office workers experience it due to the repetitive strain of desk work.
🎾 What is Tennis Elbow?
Tennis elbow, or lateral epicondylitis, is a form of repetitive strain injury that affects the tendons on the outside of the elbow. It’s caused by overuse of the forearm muscles, leading to tiny tears in the tendon tissue which can result in pain, stiffness and reduced grip strength. Common causes can include:
- Repetitive mouse use – continuous small movements strain the forearm muscles can actually build up to a whole lotta pain
- Poor posture – slouching or sitting without arm support forces the forearms and wrists to compensate
- Typing technique – striking keys too forcefully or with awkward wrist angles can increase stress on the tendons
- Prolonged use without breaks – hours of uninterrupted desk work overloads the muscles and causes injuries
🎾 Symptoms to watch out for:
- Pain or burning on the outer elbow
- Discomfort when gripping objects e.g. turning a doorknob or lifting a mug
- Stiffness or tenderness that worsens with activity
🎾 Prevention tips:
- Set up an ergonomic workstation
- Keep your keyboard and mouse at elbow height
- Use a chair with armrests to reduce forearm strain
- Position your mouse close to your body
- Adjust your technique
- Type lightly instead of pounding the keys
- Switch hands for mouse use if possible
- Consider using ergonomic accessories like a vertical mouse
- Take regular breaks
- Every 30–45 minutes, stand up and stretch (you know I’m a big advocate for stretch breaks – need a quick one now? Click here)
- Rotate wrists and gently stretch forearms
- Listen to your body
- Don’t ignore early signs of pain
- If symptoms persist, consult a physiotherapist for tailored exercises and treatment
✊ Stretches you can do to strengthen and release
Gentle daily stretching prevents tightness from building up – try these to help your elbows and wrists. There’s a short tutorial video of the stretches when you get to the end.
✊ Wrist extensor stretch
Straighten your arm and make a loose claw-like-fist, then let the hand drop forwards and gently press against the back of the hand with the other hand. Hold for 20 seconds.
✊ Wrist flexor stretch
Flatten the palm and then flex the wrist so the tops of the fingers point up towards the ceiling. Use the other hand to push the fingers towards the body. Hold for 20 seconds.
Alternate between the extensor and flexor stretches for three rounds of each.
✊ Pronate and flex
Straighten your arm out and rotate it so your thumb is pointing up to the sky and spread your fingers. Turn the arm from the elbow (pronate) so that your thumb now points to the floor. Interlace the fingers with your other hand, and then gently press the wrist back so it’s into a flexion. So if your stretching your right arm, your left fingers interlace, and then press the wrist back so the fingers point out to the right (your left arm will cross over the top of the right arm). Hold for 20 seconds, repeat for three rounds.
✊ Forearm rotation
Hold something bar-like (like a rolling pin, for example) in one hand, fingers curling round it, keeping your elbow bent and in by your side. Moving from the elbow, rotate outwards so the bar goes horizontal and palm is up. Then move back to the centre, and rotate inwards so the back of the hand is up.
Start with the elbow bent, and then to progress this movement, straighten the arm out long.
✊ Towel twists
Holding a rolled up tea-towel between your hands. Roll the wrists, creating the movement you would as if you were trying to wring out the towel.
✊ Strengthen the muscles to prevent in the future
Using light dumbbells, or some tins from the kitchen cupboard, take some slow elbow extension and flexion movements to build strength.
✊ Massage and release
You can also try massaging out the tendons in the elbow and using spikey balls to gently roll over the tendons and release them.
🎾 Final Thoughts
Tennis elbow isn’t just for players – it’s such a common desk-job injury too. By adjusting your setup and taking regular stretch breaks, you can keep your elbows pain-free and your workday more comfortable.
Which stretch did you enjoy the most?
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