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The Latest Tennis Elbow Cure
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08/20/2009 - 11:11 AM
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Attention tennis elbow sufferers: Could a short, twisty rubber bar be the solution to your painful elbow problems? That’s what a recent trial concluded. In an uncompleted study, two groups of tennis elbow victims, one doing exercises with dumbbells and the other using a rubber bar, were compared. The results were so drastically different, with the rubber bar group coming out ahead, that the study was aborted so everyone could use the rubber bar.
 So what is this magical tool, you ask, and what does it do? It’s a Thera-Band Flexbar hand exerciser, which you can twist and bend. According to Tim Tyler, a clinical research associate at Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, who headed the study, it allows you to do “isolated eccentric” exercises, meaning that it provides resistance while the muscles lengthen. When I spoke to him, he likened the exercise to lowering the barbell while doing a chest press: As you slowly lower, you have to work to control the resistance of the weight, so your muscles lengthen as they contract. Here’s a link to a video of the exercise with the rubber bar.
Wouldn’t it be nice if this simple exercise was the answer? Since the study wasn’t completed, there isn't hard data to cite. But given the fact that many of the other solutions, things like cortisone shots, platelet replacement therapy, and surgery, are much more invasive, this at-home exercise might be worth a try. Tyler recommends three sets of 15 repetitions twice a day, though only after you’ve gotten the OK from your doctor or physical therapist.
6 Comments
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Posted by Dan |
08/27/2009 at 05:01 PM |
Where can you get these rubber bars? And are there other products that might work equally as well? Like household items? Thanks! |
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Posted by B.Sc Kinesiology Honours Student |
08/27/2009 at 08:44 PM |
It would be better if the "recent trial" link linked to the original clinical study on PubMed not to a Reuters article about the study. |
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Posted by Fudoshin |
08/28/2009 at 01:28 AM |
It would be good if you would keep the readers posted on this product. |
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Posted by mrb282 |
08/28/2009 at 09:14 AM |
This makes sense.
When I was a high school player, our coach made us do an exercise where we tied 5-10lbs of weights to a short stick (or curl bar), and hold out at arms length, and then grip roll the string to raise the weights. Very strenuous on the forearms, but I never had tennis elbow in H.S.
The flexbar is very similar to this exercise I did in high school.
I would like to purchase, and have sent an email to them after following the link provided.
Thanks tennis.com for the article! |
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Posted by Sarah Unke |
08/28/2009 at 10:41 AM |
I can't think of a household item that would provide quite the same type of resistance, which is key to the exercise. For more information on where to buy the Thera-Band Flexbar, go to thera-band.com and click the "where to buy" link. I also found it on Amazon.com. The brand Cando has one as well, called the Cando Flexible Hand Bar, which is also available on Amazon.com. |
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Posted by MIke |
10/07/2009 at 12:52 PM |
Keep in mind the reason you have tennis elbow is most likely because you have an imbalance or weakness somewhere else in your body. You are compensating for this weakness by making your elbow work much harder than is has to. To cure tennis elbow, you must figure out where the weaknesses and limitations are through-out your whole body and not just focus on the muscles and connective tissue in your elbow. Once you know where the limitations are, than you can start a tennis elbow treatment program that integrates the whole body as well as isolates the muscle and tendons in the elbow.
http://fitnesscontrarian.com/tennis-elbow-treatment/ |
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