Tennis elbow, or lateral epicondylagia, can be a nagging injury that can last for months. Many studies point to the benefits of isometric contractions to reduce pain related to tendinitis/tendinosis. An isometric contraction is one in which the muscle contracts, but does not produce joint movement. Check out this video for a couple examples of isometrics for tennis elbow.

Regional interdependence is a fancy term which basically means the joints of the body are all related and can have an effect on other areas. This is why we assess the structures surrounding the painful area. For example, if you have knee pain, we will assess the hip and ankle for possible contributing factors.

In the body, joints are designed to be stable or mobile. Thankfully, there is a pattern…they alternate. Let’s take the foot-ankle complex for example. We have always heard that flat feet (think too mobile) are bad so we want the foot to be stable. Then, the next closest joint, the ankle, needs to be mobile. This alternating stable-mobile-stable patterns continues throughout the body, so the mobile segment can work on a stable base. You might think of this like standing on a skateboard…the board can move (mobile) and if we are also mobile when we stand on it, things don’t go so well. We need to be stable when standing on the mobile skateboard to not fall.

Check out this video:

Here’s how things went yesterday at the gym and some simple tweaks.

About a week ago I noticed some pain on the outside of my left elbow while lifting weights. I knew it was nothing serious, but needed some attention. Check out this video as I explain a little more. I will post updates as I go along.