How to Fix Tennis Elbow (PERMANENTLY!)

If you have tennis elbow, or lateral epicondylitis as it is officially known, you know one thing - it hurts and you’d likely do anything you could to stop if. In this video, I’m going to show you the best way to fix tennis elbow pain once and for all by actually continuing to workout rather than stopping all together, which is never really the optimal solution to any orthopedic inflammatory issue.

When we talk about tennis elbow, we are talking about the pain that radiates from a specific spot on the top side or outside of the elbow whenever we reach to pick something up or hold something with a palms down grip. This spot is where many of the extensor tendons of the wrist converge and attach. The issue with this group of muscles is that they are very weak and unable to handle a significant load on their own, when unsupported by the muscles that are supposed to contribute to making their job in function easier.

The irony is that many of the tennis elbow injuries don’t come from playing tennis. The backhand stroke in tennis is the one that requires a forceful extension of the wrist at the moment of striking the ball that powerfully drives it towards your opponent. That said, this is not ever going to be as strong as it could be if you are leaving these weaker muscles on their own to produce maximal force.

Well, as is almost always the case, the mechanics that are out of whack when the tennis stroke goes awry carry over to the gym as well. The same things that are lacking on the court can play out in the weight room that lead to almost immediate aggravation of these tendons in weightlifters. Keep in mind, while this is known as an overuse injury it should probably be more properly termed an overtaxing issue.

This exercise is almost always the side lateral or front dumbbell raise for shoulders. It pains me to say it because this is one of my all time favorite exercises for building up bigger middle delts and shoulders in general.

When performing a side lateral raise you can either use a weight that is challenging but attainable to complete 10-12 repetitions, one that is lighter than what would normally be used here or one that is even heavier than usual but relies on body swing and momentum to get the weight up. I’d argue that the worst weight to use here is the one in the middle. This is because it often times exceeds the isometric strength capacity of the wrist extensors.

Instead, as I’ve advised countless times on this channel, choosing the light dumbbells for strict form side lateral raises is the only way to go. Incorporating additional intensity techniques like slow motion reps and one and a half reps is going to help equalize the load and take a weight that may be too light and create an overload that is appropriate for causing muscle growth.

The exercise that does this better than any other? The kettlebell swing.

That’s right. The swing allows you to progressively and gradually load the muscles that are being subjected to too much isolated load right now and incorporate the muscles that are supposed to be assisting in the first place.

Start with a two arm swing (one being the injured arm and the other being the healthy one that can serve to spot the other through the initial recovery). Perform sets of 30-50 swings at a time with a light to moderate weight. This should be performed as 2-3 sets two to three times per week. As you are able to handle more, you can either increase the weight of the kettlebell or shift to a slightly lighter kettlebell but hold it with just one hand rather than two and perform the same movement.

Also, you can offset the load by swinging it to one side rather than straight down the middle. The key benefit here is that you turn the exercise from a sagittal plane driven exercise into a transverse plane exercise as well. This will help to load up the hips into rotation for additional power recruitment and further blend every day function into the ultimate demands of the forearm extensors.

For more videos on exercises for tennis elbow and lateral epicondylitis and the best way to fix tennis elbow pain, be sure to subscribe to our channel via the link below and remember to turn on your notifications so you never miss a new video when it’s published.

[athleanx]

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If you don’t win, no worries, you’re not going away empty handed. Just be sure you have your notifications turned on so you can get to my next video quickly and try again. Good luck and thanks for being a loyal subscriber…

[webstermiller]

After just 3 kettle ball workouts I noticed a definite improvement in my elbow pain...both tennis AND golfer's. After 2 additional workouts it's pretty much completely gone. Never in a million years would I have thought this would have resolved my issue so quickly.

[Arms]

I NEVER NEVER NEVER post comments on Youtube but I gotta do it. YOU SAVED MY ARM. You have no idea how grateful I'm with you. After watching this video I did two things. First, I started doing 4 sets of 15 reps of Kettlebell swings at the end of my workouts. Second, the first shoulder workout that I did after watching this I didn't do any lateral raise. Within a couple of DAYS, my unbearable pain on the elbow went away. It hasn't even been 2 weeks and I felt normal for the first time in months. No more massage, no more pain relief ointment, nothing. My guess is that the issue was the lateral raises. I wasn't doing them with any crazy weight, but I guess that it just wasn't working for me.

[kw]

Good afternoon Jeff - thank you for everything that you do. I am a very fit 59 year old man living in Wales, UK. I know that this video was posted quite a while ago, but you asked for feedback from viewers regarding the efficacy of the kettlebell swings and cheat side lateral raises in treating elbow tendonitis. I am happy to give you mine. About 3 weeks ago, I hurt my right elbow whilst working a job that involved the repetitive emptying of boxes full of domestic waste material into the side lockers of a purpose-built truck. These boxes are often quite heavy and once in the locker, they often need to be flipped over with one hand and emptied. I had been doing the job for about 2 weeks.

All of a sudden one afternoon, I realised that I could barely flex my right elbow. I promptly left the job! I am also a serious student of fingerstyle acoustic guitar and I had noticed twinges of pain in my right elbow for some time - the one used for strumming - but these were mild and infrequent, so I ignored them.

Big panic. I stopped playing the guitar and started worrying about the time it would take to heal etc etc. The first thing I want to tell you is that none of the 'other' websites and channels that I consulted about this problem mentioned that tendonitis can be caused in a single movement - they all seemed to assume that it is a gradual process. You - of course - do mention this in the video and I think it is a significant fact.

So off to Argos to buy 6kg and 8kg kettlebells, although I do own 'regular' dumbells. I did two sets of 30 reps with the 6kg kettlebell yesterday evening and about 18 hours later, the pain has almost gone and I am much happier and optimistic. I know that I still have to be careful and I will be moving through the exercises steadily in the near future, but I have to say that the immediate results have astounded me and I am very, very grateful to you.

Jeff, you are bloody fantastic and it is no surprise to me that you have 13, 000, 000 subscribers - and counting. Thank you so much. Literally no-one else even mentions these exercises and I would like to wish you the best of luck for the though you won't need it!

[KurtEllenbergerFraKathustra]

I've had terrible tennis elbow pain for months, tried EVERYTHING from the stretches to the exercises. Nothing helped, just kept getting worse. Stumbled on this video, and gave it a try--within 3 days, pain was vastly diminished, and now, a week later, it just keeps getting better and better. THANK YOU!!!

[StreetWorkout]

Just got that injury 3 days ago and here is a video. Great!

[dwerggalago]

It's insane how much nearly all your videos have helped me tremendously in developing and perfecting my workout routines, as well as avoiding injury. Massive amounts of respect and thanks!

[AndrewCFisherProductions]

This is amazing. I've been doing these exercises for a week, and I've felt a huge improvement. I felt better after the first day. Thank you. These exercises will be a part of my routine from now on.

[pgbrighton]

Using the side swings with a 10Kg dumbell I have at home it took just 3 days for the elbow pain I've had for 6 months or more to subside. After 10 days it had gone completely, and over the same period as my arm strength improved I was able to increase the reps and hold the swing at horizontal for a bit. This exercise really works and is now part of my standard routine. Thanks Jeff - I think you've saved me a lot of money that I would have spent at the Physio.

[masalacontroller]

Jeff pls make a playlist on the injuries caused at the gym and how to fix them, like plantar fasciitis, back pain fix, etc in one playlist

[SyedAli-ubbs]

I would definitely recommend this exercise to anyone!!! It fixed my elbow in a week after having pain for couple of months thanks you so much

[heidixc]

Thank you! This video worked so well for me. Nothing else has worked. Love how concise your explanations are.

[mountaintop]

This video was a great help. I just got this tennis elbow pain a few days ago for the first time and thought it was from golfing. But your description of how the injury can occur was spot on. I actually did lat raises with probably too much weight and that triggered this problem. I will try the kettle bell routine starting today. Thank you for making this concise and showing the proper technique.

[mhom]

Jeff, thank you!! Amazing!! I have had tennis elbow for 8 months, stretching, resting, icing, etc., to no avail. I performed the swings with a 5 lb weight (same grip as kettlebell) and I can't believe the improvement after just 1 session of 30 swings. I cannot thank you enough for making this video.

[jasonfederhenn]

thank GOD i found this video, i've had the so called "tennis elbow" for about half a year now, and it seemed to be due to my job. i couldnt really do anything about it, so i just sucked it up and went on with my day. thank you for teaching me, not only the name, but how to fix it. you're the best

[mdesgro]

I did this and I felt the difference immediately. Thank you so much.

[dudea]

Just wanted to say thanks Jeff. Kettlebell swings fixed my raging case of tennis elbow. It took a couple months but the pain is virtually gone. It had become a chronic problem and was starting to become unbearable this year, and this was just what I needed. Merry Christmas!

[yahyaatiya]

I find the "reverse pitcher" to be a far more natural position than the "pouring the pitcher" position. The shoulder feels much more comfortable. Honestly sometimes we do weird things to our joints in the name of gains. So thanks Jeff, for the tip. I saw it almost two years back and never regretted making the change.

[vamperina]

Hi Jeff,
Thanks for yet another awesome explanation of tennis elbow or whatever bodypart you are talking about. I have been watching you a couple of years now! I am a therapeutic L.M.T
and I have worked on quite a few professional athletes and fitness warriors over the last 14 years. But of all the YouTube videos yours happen to be 1 of the best because you make learning about the human physiology and what it can and can't do very palatable! Anatomy is the foundation of everything concerning the human body when it comes to movement and strengthening it. Your observations and experience is mirrored by what I have personally encountered and learned over the years. So really just wanted to say thank you for your videos being succinct, safe and to be honest quite hilarious at times!

[MuadDib.]

fantastic, just what I needed. Feeling instant relief from the pain doing this and confident it will do the job. Thank you