Blog — tennis elbow

All You Need To Know About Elbow Braces

Have you noticed pain and weakness in your elbow and arm when you are lifting light objects or make repetitive motions? Is there a tingling down your arm into your hands? You could very well be suffering from Tendonitis, more commonly known as Tennis or Golfer's Elbow.

 

Elbow Braces For Athletes

People who participate in sports such as tennis, golf, football and basketball realize the repetitive stress and strain on their muscles and tendons could lead to elbow or knee injury causing them problems down the line.

If you are one of these people then you realize the importance of protecting your joints now to as much discomfort as possible in your future. To keep your joints healthy and functional one of the most important item you should have in your sportswear wardrobe is an elbow or knee brace.

Use of a brace during your activities will provide support and help prevent any injury to your tendons and muscles help to prevent the onset of tennis elbow or tendonitis.

 

Elbow Braces For non-athletic individuals

Non-athletic individuals can also develop tendonitis or tennis elbow. Repetitive motion is the cause for the onset of tendonitis. Those who spend most of their day in typing on a computer keyboard, work as wait staff in restaurants who are constantly lifting dishes, heavy trays and tubs full of dishes just to name a few have the very real potential of getting tennis elbow.

 

What is Tennis Elbow?

Do you dread getting out of bed when the alarm goes off in the morning? The dread is not because you are just tired. It is because you are sick and tired of the constant pain you suffer from tennis elbow. Whether you suffer from mild or severe pain the time during the first stages of tennis elbow can be very uncomfortable. 

Tennis elbow or tendonitis is the name given to a painful condition caused by injury or strain to the tendons on the outside of elbow. Believe it or not you do not get tennis elbow just from playing tennis. This ailment is caused from the same motion that has been repeated over and over again.

The constant repetitive motion eventually begins to wear away at the tendons on the outside of your elbow and weakens them to the point you are eventually feeling pain any time you do any type of activity involving use your arm and elbow. 

Many suffer from such mild pain they are able to treat their tennis elbow with over the pain relievers such as, Ibuprofen or Naprox. There are even medicated creams available to rub directly on the injure area but like the over the counter pills the relief obtained is only temporary.  Use of over the counter remedies is only masks the pain. It does not help repair or heal the tendons.

If not treated properly this injury could become severe enough to prescription pain-killers or require surgery. Surgery and prescription pain-killers only should be turned to as the last resort.

 

Elbow Tendonitis Brace - A Chemical Free Alternative

If you care about what you put in your body and want to get some much needed relief from your elbow pain without filling your body with over the counter pain relievers made of chemicals you can't even pronounce, don't give up just yet.

As soon as you feel the pain come on the first thing you want to do is to avoid any type of activity that causes or worsens the pain. It is best to stop the action or activity completely. If completely avoiding the activity causing the pain is not an option then you need to find a way to be able to do the activity while not causing more damage to the tendons and thus increasing your pain.

Now is time to for you to do your homework and research any kind of information you can find about other alternatives of treatment that are available. You will be very surprised at how many options that are available for those who suffer from tendonitis or better known as tennis elbow.

Over the counter pain relievers only decrease or lessen the pain and discomfort.  While others decrease inflammation as well as the pain. You do not have to pop a lot of pills or spend a lot of time rubbing smelly creams all over your elbow.

 

Brace Yourself With An Elbow Brace For Tendonitis

One at home remedy is to keep the muscles and tendons from getting too stiff by gently stretching the muscles to the hem every so often during the day. Stretching exercises helps the damaged muscles regain their flexibility and strength.

Keep in mind you will want to stop the stretches if you feel any pain. Alternate and intermittent use of heat and ice packs on the elbow will help keep pain and swelling to a minimum.

If these remedies do not give you the desired relief it is time to take your treatment to the next level. You can try wearing a tennis elbow brace on your elbow during the day. The brace for tennis elbow is a sleeve that is designed to apply steady pressure to the damaged muscles & tendons in the elbow while providing support during light activity. 

A tennis elbow brace is made of a soft fabric such as neoprene with some plastic for added support. This elbow brace for tendonitis fits snug over the elbow. It is put on by slipping it over your hand and wrist and then placing so it covers the whole elbow.

The elbow brace will provide warmth and support to the injured area while relieving some of the pain. One important thing to remember is the proper tennis elbow brace placement is very crucial to the time it will take your body to heal. It also plays an important role in the level of healing that can o occur in your elbow.

Those who have used brace for tennis elbow have provided glowing reviews and high praises.  They were amazed at the comfort. Many believed they would feel a tightness when they put the brace on but instead found a comfortable fit. In fact as their day wore on they forgot they even had it on. 

The arm brace for tennis elbow warmed the elbow area which helped provided pain relief while it gave the arm support.

 

Golfer's Elbow Brace

Tendonitis also known as tennis elbow is an injury to the tendons on the outside of the elbow.  Did you know that an injury to the tendons on the inside of the elbow are known as Golfer's Elbow? I kid you not, it really does exist.

 

How to know if you need a Golfers Elbow Brace

Symptoms consist of tenderness and pain on the inside of your elbow. At times the pain may extend all the way along the inside of your forearm. Certain movements can make the pain worsen. At times your elbow may feel stiff or you might feel pain when making a fist.

You will also notice some weakness in your hand and wrist. There could also be some numbness or tingling that may radiate into your hand or fingers.

The onset of Golfers Elbow can be gradual or just seem to appear overnight. If the pain worsens when you swing a golf club, shake hands or turn a doorknob you might want to see about a using a golfers elbow brace to help ease the pain.

 

What Helps For Tennis & Golfer’s Elbow?

The best home remedy for Golfer's Elbow is ice and heat. Use ice during the first stages of the onset of the pain and inflammation of the elbow will help the start to heal itself. Once the swelling has gone down the next step is to get the blood flowing. 

The inflammation in the elbow causes decreased blood flow to the tendons and muscles is the main cause of pain and discomfort. Inflammation can also cause weakness in your hands, wrists and lower arm. Increasing blood flow will help the tendons heal much quicker. 

This is where the use of a brace becomes part of your treatment therapy. Wearing an Elbow tendonitis brace will help warm the area decreasing swelling thus increase the blood flow to the injured area helping to speed up healing process and decrease pain.

When the proper fitting elbow brace for tendonitis is used and worn consistently the healing begins. You do not have to wear the brace all the time once you have gotten your pain under control. Put the brace away until you feel the weakness in your arm or the pain start to creep in again. Wearing the brace from the onset of the symptoms will help prevent any more injury to the area while keeping your pain and discomfort at minimum.

 

Best Braces for Tennis Elbow

Adjustable braces increase or decrease compression depending on the level of pain. On the days you suffer from more pain you may want to tighten the brace to provide additional support so you can go through your day as effectively as possible.

 

For the wrist.

A wrist brace is designed to provide support for those who suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome, a wrist sprain or muscle strain. A brace is also used after wrist surgery or after a cast has been removed to provide support until the muscle and tendons strengthen and heal. 

This type of  brace uses stabilizers located above and below the hand to control wrist movement and allowing full use of the fingers. It is adjustable so it is one size fits all. Made of a breathable neoprene material it keeps your wrist dry even in the warmest conditions.

 

Elbow Sleeve

The elbow sleeve can be used for both sufferers of golfers or tennis elbow. Many tennis players and golfers use this brace to prevent injury. Most elbow sleeves are made of a combination of Spandex and Nylon. The combination of spandex and nylon creates a highly durable and flexible brace that prevents moisture from accumulating while being worn. The strength of this material provides forearm support and compression to prevent unnecessary arm movement while relieving the pain.

 

Tennis Elbow Brace Placement 

The elbow strap is adjustable and is versatile in that it can be worn on either arm. Its Velcro straps and adjust-ability makes it perfect for those who need relief from pain. The adjustable straps provide controlled compression help prevent new injury.

 

Helps During Activities

Weightlifting can put quite a strain on your muscles and joints. Some compression sleeves are made of a special yarn infused with bamboo charcoal elements that provide comfort and support to the elbow muscles. The combination of bamboo charcoal and yarn helps improve circulation while making heat dissipated very quickly keeping the area feeling dry. It fits snug and is perfect to be used in other as supports such golf, baseball and tennis just to name a few.

There is also another type of  brace made from nylon and spandex and is infused with copper.  Research has shown that copper has anti-inflammatory abilities which helps speed the healing of  overworked joints and muscles. The copper-infused sleeve also has a wicking design offering an anti-slip lining.

 

Conclusion

Whether you suffer from arthritis, tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome or any other type of muscle or joint pain you can find relief from pain without taking pain medication or having major surgery.  Don't just reach for the over the counter pain remedies and call it a day. 

You do have other options, quite a few of them in fact. Just do your homework and with a little trial and error you will find the right brace or sleeve is to help alleviate your pain and get you back into your daily activities before you know it. 

One thing to keep in mind when looking at the many different braces and sleeves to choose from be very mindful of the compression levels and be sure to choose the level to match your level of pain, otherwise compression could cause more harm than good.

5 REASONS YOU NEED COMPRESSION SLEEVES

Compression sleeves are a favorite compression garment amongst runners. They can be worn on either arms or legs to protect the elbows or knees from injuries. Compression sleeves are designed to keep the muscles warm as well as to prevent to prevent muscle strains and fatigue from occurring.

These sleeves are popular in both male and female athletes and health buffs because they provide optimal support to both arms and legs, regardless of gender. Below we’ll list the 5 key benefits of using compression sleeves.

 

1. PROTECTION FROM OUTDOOR ELEMENTS

One of the most important benefits of compression sleeves is that they provide protection to your legs and arms from scratches and abrasions. They are extremely important accessories for trail runners who are prone to getting small injuries from twigs, rough legs and other elements found within the trail. Compression sleeves can also protect runners from getting close contact with poison ivy which can cause excruciatingly painful rashes on the skin.

 

2. PREVENTS DIRT AND GRIM

You can still exercise while remain clean and free of dust on your legs and arms. When you are running outdoors, you are exposed to dust particles in the air that may collect on your exposed skin thus giving you that disgusting feeling whenever it mixes with sweat and moisture coming from rain or fog.  If you were compression sleeves, the dust are collected on the sleeves and not on your skin so you can just easily dust yourself off after running.

 

3. HELPS REDUCES SWELLING

Compression technology is known to limit the swelling on the muscles and joints. When you do exercises particularly running, you end up having your entire muscles contracting. Other forces like vibration and movement can also change the direction of the muscles thus causing soreness. Wearing compression sleeves reduce the muscle movement thus reducing the risks of getting involved in any sports-related injuries. 

The research conducted by A. Menetrier and L. Mourot published in the International Journal of Sports noted that compression sleeves help increase tissue oxygen saturation on the forearms which aids in better recovery and better performance. 

If you also wear it, it inhibits the affected muscles from producing creatine kinase which is a precursor to muscle tissue damage. Moreover, the lactic acid formation due to anaerobic threshold is also reduced thus improving the ability of the muscles for fast post-workout recovery.  Your body is given lesser time to repair itself from damage.

 

4. MAINTAINS GOOD BODY TEMPERATURE

Good compression sleeves have the ability to help maintain healthy body temperature.  It is breathable so you will feel that it is barely there. During hot days, you can keep yourself cool while running because it has the ability to wick away extra moisture from sweat. On the other hand, you can also keep yourself warm during cold days by wearing shorts or pants underneath. The thing is that since it feels barely there, you have the ability to maintain a good body temperature.

 

5. CAN TREAT SOME MEDICAL CONDITIONS

If you are suffering from conditions like deep vein thrombosis which is the pooling of blood in the lower leg after sitting for long periods of hours, then you can use leg compression sleeves to help promote healthy circulation. You can also use this apparel if your legs have excess fluid due to edema.

The thing is that all athletes, either fierce competitors or everyday athletes, perform better if they use compression apparels like compression sleeves because it provides protection and support to both arms and legs.