Elbow pain is a common complaint we see at our Oakville Physio clinic. As everyone is different a Physiotherapist should treat everyone differently. It is never a one size fits all approach to Physio treatment, no should it be.

Proper Assessment

A thorough, individualized assessment is how every Physio initial visit should begin. This is where the Physiotherapist takes a history of your issue and delves into you medical history. Things like you range of motion, strength and mobility of you joints is tested. What exactly is assessed on a first visit with a Physiotherapist depends on how acute your issue is and what you have told them in the subjective history taking.

Address any Muscle Imbalances

Based on the assessment findings, the Physiotherapist may provide you with stretches or strengthening. They will suggest to you how many times a day and for how long you should be doing an exercise. This may include stretching your wrist extensors and maybe even your pronators.

Joint Mobility

As mentioned in our previous post, some tennis elbow issue are related to an elbow that is aligned in a different way.

Look Above

When there is elbow pain it important to rule in or out any neck or nerve involvement. If you continue to treat just the elbow and not the neck the elbow may be slow to improve. Posture may be an issue with the joints in the neck impacting the nerve that supplies the elbow.

Acupuncture, Taping, Heat, Ice

Your Physiotherapist may speak with you about other treatment options in addition to stretches, joint mobilizations and soft tissue work. These can include acupuncture, taping techniques as well as heating the area.