Watch to find out if you should use ice or heat for tennis elbow
#tenniselbow #lateralepicondylitis

With an injury like tennis elbow the classic question of whether to apply ice or heat comes up frequently and it makes sense because tennis elbow is notorious for turning into a chronic, hard to treat condition. I’m Dr AJ, founder of Stronglife Physiotherapy. Let’s talk about ice and heat for tennis elbow

Ice has been a go-to treatment for this condition for decades. It was thought that the tendon was inflamed and of course we need to calm down that inflammation. Ice helps with inflammation and can provide some temporary pain relief. The problem with this theory is that after a month or two the tendon is no longer inflamed. Tennis elbow really isn’t an inflammation problem, it’s more of a degeneration problem meaning the tendon is breaking down, has micro tears and a lack of blood flow. Ice has the effect of reducing blood flow, so it doesn’t make a lot of sense to further restrict blood flow to an area that is struggling to heal. Ice has been shown to interfere with building strength so it’s not a great idea to do before or after exercise.

There is limited research available for icing which is funny because it’s been used for tennis elbow for so long. The one study I found of 40 tennis elbow sufferers showed no additional benefit when added to an exercise program. In this study it didn’t seem to make a difference whether they iced or not which matches my experience.

Heat makes more sense because it brings more blood flow to an area that is lacking in blood flow and trying to heal. It also helps reduce stiffness and pain. There isn’t much in the way of studies showing significant benefit of heat either.

Ice and heat really aren’t going to be the main part of recovering from tennis elbow, but if you are going to use one or the other I would recommend heat. It’s especially helpful before stretching and exercising to loosen things up. Or you can use it at the end of the day to relieve some of the pain and tightness. Or feel free to not use heat or ice and you can still get better. Recovering from tennis elbow is more about strengthening the tendon and muscles to help it heal and become more resilient so it can handle whatever you throw at it.

Make sure to check out my other videos on tennis elbow so you can get better faster, thanks for watching and stay strong!

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