Do you recognise the symptoms of tennis elbow?
Tennis elbow can cause your elbow to feel weak and stiff. With certain movements, it can suddenly become very painful on the outside of the joint. It can be hard to straighten your arm if it’s been bent, and difficult to bend it if it’s been straight—both actions can hurt. Everyday tasks quickly become challenging, or even painful, to perform. Simple things like lifting a glass, peeling a potato, or using a computer mouse can become uncomfortable. The pain tends to be intermittent, often striking suddenly when the wrist or arm is under strain.
What is Tennis Elbow?
Tennis elbow, or "lateral epicondylitis" as it's medically called, occurs when a tendon attachment on the outside of the elbow is overstrained. This leads to inflammation around the elbow's articular protrusion (the epicondyle), and there is often a distinct pain point right at the site.
How Back on Track Can Help
Back on Track has a long history of developing therapeutic products designed to relieve, support, and accelerate recovery for joint, tendon, and muscle issues. Tennis elbow is one such condition where our innovative Welltex® textile technology can be highly beneficial. Welltex® works by reflecting the body's heat as infrared energy (FIR), which is absorbed back into the tissues, supporting healing and pain relief.
Who Can Get Tennis Elbow?
Tennis elbow can affect anyone—whether you're an athlete, someone who uses their arm intensely during everyday activities, or even someone who has poor ergonomics at their computer desk. It's common among people who make repetitive motions with their wrists, such as using a mouse or typing. Essentially, any repetitive action that places excessive load on the tendon attachment can cause tennis elbow.
Unlike osteoarthritis, where pain often worsens with rest, tennis elbow requires both rest and relief for the tendon inflammation to heal. In most cases, if the physical stress is alleviated, the condition will improve on its own, and tennis elbow has a good prognosis.
Acute vs. Chronic Phase: Different Treatment Approaches
In some cases, the acute inflammatory phase can progress into a chronic phase, where the pain persists even after the inflammation has subsided. In these cases, the tendon structure may have undergone changes due to the body's attempt to compensate for the ongoing strain. For chronic tennis elbow, neither anti-inflammatory drugs nor rest are usually enough. Instead, a carefully planned exercise program that gradually increases load can help relieve pain and improve tendon function.
To determine the best treatment approach, a doctor or physiotherapist may need to assess the severity of the condition and the healing phase of the tendon.
Welltex®: Support for Both Rest and Recovery
Regardless of whether you need rest or exercise to heal your tennis elbow, Welltex® can be an invaluable aid in speeding up your recovery.
The active ingredient in all our braces and support is our therapeutic textile technology. It is this that gives the material its ability to store and return body heat back into the tissues in the form of beneficial infrared energy (FIR). The most well-known effect of FIR is that it stimulates circulation and increases blood flow locally.
The result is individual, but is often experienced as pleasant relief, especially in cases of stiffness, soreness and inflammation.
Discover Our Elbow Products
At Back on Track, Welltex® technology is at the heart of all our products. We offer various types of circular knitted supports with different levels of elasticity, which provide compression and comfort to the affected area. The Welltex® technology influences not just the joint but also the surrounding soft tissues.
Which Product is Right for You?
Tennis Elbow Strap (Epicondylitis Strap):
A flexible and easy-to-use strap that is anatomically designed to apply targeted pressure on the lateral epicondyle, helping relieve pain from work or sports-related conditions like tennis elbow and mouse arm. Lined with Welltex® technology, the strap reflects the body’s heat as infrared energy (FIR), which helps stimulate blood circulation and accelerate healing. Its adjustable fit ensures comfortable compression, offering support during both work and sports activities. The focused pressure and FIR therapy work together to reduce discomfort and promote recovery in the affected elbow area.
Classic Elbow Brace:
This stable, circular knitted elbow brace offers therapeutic support and comfortable compression. Made with 2-way stretch elastic material, it provides firm yet comfortable support during exercise or rest. The integrated minerals in the fabric work with the body's natural heat to reflect infrared energy (FIR), enhancing circulation and promoting healing. This effect helps reduce stiffness, soreness, and inflammation, offering lasting relief for tennis elbow and similar conditions.
Physio Elbow Support (4-Way Stretch):
A thin, highly elastic, circular knitted elbow support that offers a close-to-skin fit. The thin 4-way stretch material makes it discreet to wear under clothing, providing support during activities like gardening, tennis, or long hours at the computer. The Welltex® technology embedded in the fabric reflects the body’s heat as infrared energy (FIR), stimulating blood flow and helping to alleviate discomfort in the elbow joint. It provides targeted relief, promoting faster recovery while allowing for unrestricted movement.