(Massage Therapy)
GENERAL EXPLANATION:
Tennis elbow is an injurious and inflammatory condition of periosteum of external humeral epicondyle and attached muscles and tendons. It is also called external humeral epicondylitis. It mostly occurs during manual work in which the repeated rotation of the forearm and forceful extension of the wrist pull the extensors, tendon attachments, and ligaments of the external humeral epicondyle, resulting in injury. Because it often happens to the players, and it is also called tennis elbow. The main clinical manifestations are pain on the lateral side of the elbow, slight swilling in the local area, pain aggravated by rotation of the forearm by extending the wrist, clenching a fist, and picking up objects, and pain with radiation downwards toward the extensor muscle of the wrist. Massage therapy functions to smooth the tendons, activate the blood, and stop pain.
NOTES:
1. It is advisable to extend and flex the joint with proper force and gradually increase the extension and flexion.
2. It is advisable to avoid violent extension and rotation of the sick limb.
3. It is necessary to strengthen the functional training of the sick limb (to extend and flex the elbow and rotate the forearm in and out).
TREATMENT:
1. Push the lateral side of the elbow with pain to the forearm 2 to 3 times.
2. Pluck the tenderness and nearby tissues for 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Press and knead Quchi(LI-11), Tianjing and Shousanli(LI-10) 30 to 50 times each.
4. Forcefully press the tenderness with the thumb of one hand and hold the wrist with the other hand, gradually extending and flexing the elbow joint 3 to 5 times so as to enlarge the space of the humeroradial joint of the sick elbow and relax the adhesion of the extensor muscle of the wrist on the radial side.
5. Grasp the forearm 30 times.
