Prevention

It is often difficult to prevent getting tennis elbow.

However, not putting strain on the tendons of your elbow will help you to avoid the condition or prevent your symptoms getting worse.

Self care advice

Listed below are some measures you can take to help prevent tennis elbow developing or recurring:

• if you have tennis elbow, stop doing the activity that is causing pain, or find an alternative way of doing it that does not place stress on your tendons
• avoid using your wrist and elbow more than the rest of your arm. Spread the load to the larger muscles of your shoulder and upper arm
• if you play a sport that involves repetitive movements, such as tennis or squash, getting some coaching advice to help improve your technique may help you avoid getting tennis elbow
• before playing a sport that involves repetitive arm movements, warm up properly and gently stretch your arm muscles to help avoid injury
• use lightweight tools or racquets and enlarge their grip size to help you avoid putting excess strain on your tendons
• wear a tennis elbow splint when you are using your arm, and take it off while you are resting or sleeping to help prevent further damage to your tendons. Ask your GP or physiotherapist for advice about the best type of brace or splint to use
• increasing the strength of your forearm muscles can help prevent tennis elbow. A physiotherapist can advise you about exercises to build up your forearm muscles

Page last reviewed: Mon Nov 2020 Next review due: Wed Feb 2020