Prevention

Preventing tennis elbow can be difficult.

Not putting a strain on the muscles in your forearm will help you to avoid the condition or stop your symptoms from getting worse.

Self-care advice

The measures you can take that may stop tennis elbow from developing or coming back include to:

• stop the activity that is causing pain, or find another way of doing it that does not cause pain or stress
• avoid using your wrist and elbow more than the rest of your arm. It may also help to spread the load to the larger muscles of your shoulder
• get coaching advice to help you change or improve your technique if you play a sport that involves repetitive movements, such as tennis or squash
• warm up properly and gently stretch your arm muscles before playing a sport that involves repetitive arm movements
• use lightweight tools or racquets and make their grip size bigger, to avoid putting extra strain on your tendons
• wear a tennis elbow splint when you're using your arm (not while resting or sleeping) to stop further damage to your tendons. Ask a GP or physiotherapist for advice about the best type of brace or splint to use
• increase the strength of your forearm muscles (a physiotherapist can advise you about exercises to build up your forearm muscles)