How to Improve Tennis Elbow (lateral epicondylitis) with diPulse
Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) is a painful condition that occurs when tendons in your elbow are overloaded, usually by repetitive motions of the wrist and arm. Despite its name, athletes aren't the only ones suffering from it. According to Cleveland Clinic, US, between 1% to 3% of Americans do get tennis elbow -and it affects all genders. The explanation behind this statistic is simple: the muscles that extend the fingers and wrist arise from the lateral epicondyle (outside of the elbow) and can be subject to particular tension during training or when repeatedly over-using the wrist during activities such as typing or manual work. When the condition becomes painful, it can be referred to as Tennis Elbow. Luckily for you, we can help!
If you are over-using the muscles of the lateral epicondyle, diPulse offers a program that increases blood flow to this area during your rest time. This helps to effectively remove the metabolites and additional fluid which normally accumulates following intense or repeated muscle activity. We call this ‘Active Recovery’ meaning that we are gently activating the exercised muscle group in a specific way, in order to reduce the time it takes for the muscle fibres to return to their pre-exercise state (recover).
diPulse electrode placement for lateral epicondyle muscle activation
Using your diPulse SMARTKIT or SMARTRECOVERY KIT gel pads, you can target the insertion of the wrist extensor muscles accurately as shown in the diagram – one electrode above the elbow and one over the muscle belly of the wrist extensors of the forearm. We recommend choosing the Capillarization Program for active recovery, ensuring you are at rest and in a comfortable position with the forearm supported while you run the program.
The Capillarization Program
The purpose of the Capillarization Program is to target blood flow to the area. The frequency and waveform of the current have been carefully designed to produce fasciculation (twitching) of the muscle. This acts like a micro-massage and allows bloodflow to be gently brought to the area in order to clear away metabolites and unwanted fluid. With muscle over-use, the intention is to rest and allow the muscle recovery time, so this program is intended to be comfortable to use.
Intensity
Everyone is different and the intensity applied to the Capillarization Program is highly individual. We recommend you to gradually increase intensity (start low) but build up to achieving a strong but comfortable feeling for maximum benefit – this will be your optimal intensity. At no point should this program feel uncomfortable or painful – stop using it immediately and consult your medical practitioner if you feel these symptoms. Otherwise, you can use the Capillarization Program daily for maximum effect.
As part of your own individual active recovery process, the diPulse Capillarization Program is a useful tool to help the over-exerted muscles of the lateral epicondyle and you should feel the benefit in this area after only a few days of use. Our advice? Get plenty of rest, be patient and enjoy the recovery process.
*Disclaimer - Please consult a medical practitioner and/or refer to the diPulse User Manual before using this product if you believe you have any medical issues.
