Tennis Elbow Treatment at Dee Why Chiropractic Care
If the outside of your elbow aches every time you lift a coffee cup, shake a hand, or pick up a racquet, it’s worth looking into tennis elbow treatment in Dee Why. At Dee Why Chiropractic Care, this is one of the most common overuse injuries we see — and the good news is it responds well to the right combination of hands-on treatment, whether or not you’ve ever picked up a tennis racquet.
In this guide, we’ll explain what tennis elbow is, why it happens, and how we treat it at our Dee Why clinic using dry needling, TENS/electrical stimulation, Active Release Technique (ART) and IASTM (instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilisation).
What Is Tennis Elbow?
Tennis elbow — the clinical name is lateral epicondylitis (sometimes called lateral epicondylalgia) — is inflammation and micro-tearing of the tendons that attach your forearm extensor muscles to the bony bump on the outside of your elbow. Every time you grip, twist, or extend your wrist, those tendons take load. Over time, repetitive strain causes small tears that the body struggles to fully repair, leading to persistent pain and weakness.
According to healthdirect Australia, tennis elbow affects roughly 2 in every 100 adults aged 30–65, and despite the name, the majority of cases have nothing to do with tennis. We regularly see it in:
- Tradespeople who use screwdrivers, hammers or power tools repetitively
- Office workers and typists with poor wrist positioning
- Parents carrying young children or car seats
- Gym-goers and racquet-sport players with technique or load issues
- Chefs, hairdressers and cleaners doing repetitive gripping tasks
Common symptoms include pain and tenderness on the outer elbow (often radiating into the forearm), a weakened grip, pain when shaking hands or turning a doorknob, and discomfort that builds gradually rather than appearing overnight. If any of this sounds familiar, targeted tennis elbow treatment in Dee Why can address both the pain and its underlying cause, rather than just masking the symptoms.
How We Assess Tennis Elbow at Dee Why Chiropractic Care
Before we start treatment, we take a thorough case history and run a series of orthopaedic tests — including resisted wrist extension, grip strength testing and palpation of the common extensor tendon — to confirm the diagnosis and rule out other causes of elbow pain, such as radial nerve involvement or referred pain from the neck. This is an important step, because a few conditions mimic tennis elbow but need a different treatment approach entirely.
Once we’ve confirmed what we’re dealing with, we build a treatment plan around your specific aggravating factors — whether that’s your grip on a golf club, your desk setup, or a manual job that keeps loading the tendon before it can heal.
Our Treatment Approach
Current evidence consistently shows that tennis elbow responds best to a combination of manual therapy and progressive loading exercise, rather than any single technique on its own. Here’s what tennis elbow treatment in Dee Why looks like at our clinic:
1. Dry Needling
We insert fine, sterile needles directly into the tight, irritated muscle bands in the forearm extensors to help release trigger points, improve local blood flow, and reduce the muscle guarding that keeps pulling on the injured tendon. A recent systematic review and meta-analysis found dry needling can meaningfully reduce pain and improve function in people with lateral epicondylitis, particularly when combined with other rehabilitation. Most patients describe it as a deep, dull ache rather than sharp pain, and many feel looser in the forearm within a day or two.
2. TENS / Electrical Stimulation
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) uses a low-level electrical current through the skin to help calm pain signals and reduce muscle tension around the elbow. We often use it either during or after manual treatment to take the edge off acute pain and make the tendon more comfortable to load through exercise.
3. Active Release Technique (ART)
ART is a hands-on, motion-based soft tissue technique. We apply precise tension to the extensor tendon and muscle while moving your wrist and elbow through a specific range of motion. This helps break down adhesions and scar tissue that build up around a chronically irritated tendon, and restores normal gliding between the muscle, tendon and surrounding tissue.
4. IASTM (Instrument-Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilisation)
Using specially designed stainless-steel instruments, we work along the forearm extensor muscles and tendon to detect and treat areas of restriction, scar tissue and fascial adhesion that are harder to feel by hand alone. IASTM is widely used in sports chiropractic and physiotherapy for stubborn tendinopathies like tennis elbow, and is often combined with ART for a more complete soft-tissue release.
Why we combine these techniques
Each of these tools addresses a slightly different piece of the puzzle — pain, muscle tightness, scar tissue and tendon loading capacity — which is why we rarely rely on just one. We pair hands-on treatment with a progressive home exercise program, usually starting with isometric holds and building into eccentric loading exercises (slowly lowering a weight through wrist extension), which has the strongest evidence base of any single intervention for tennis elbow recovery.
What to Expect From Treatment
Most patients need a course of care rather than a single visit — tendons are slow-healing tissue, and healthdirect notes that tennis elbow can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months to fully settle, even with treatment. In our experience, patients who combine in-clinic treatment with their home exercises consistently see faster, more lasting improvement than those relying on rest and ice alone. We’ll reassess your progress regularly and adjust the plan — including your training or work modifications — as your tendon strengthens.
Watch it in action: we filmed a short clip showing one some of the most effective home exercises to get relief from tennis elbow.
Simple Things You Can Do at Home
- Apply ice for 10–15 minutes after activities that aggravate your elbow.
- Avoid gripping activities that reproduce sharp pain — discomfort is okay, sharp pain is a signal to back off.
- Check your workstation, tool grip size, or racquet grip/string tension if repetitive strain is the trigger.
- A counterforce (tennis elbow) brace can reduce load on the tendon during aggravating tasks.
- Don’t wait for it to “just go away” — the longer a tendon is repeatedly irritated, the longer it typically takes to settle.
When Should You See a Chiropractor for Tennis Elbow?
If your elbow pain has lasted more than a couple of weeks, keeps returning, or is affecting your grip strength and daily tasks, it’s worth getting it properly assessed rather than pushing through it. Left untreated, tennis elbow can become a chronic, harder-to-treat tendinopathy. If you’ve been putting off looking into tennis elbow treatment in Dee Why, this is your sign to get it assessed properly.
Ready to get started? Book an assessment with Dee Why Chiropractic Care or call us on (02) 9971 9428. We’re located at Shop 4, 1-3 Sturdee Parade, Dee Why NSW 2099 — servicing patients across Dee Why and the Northern Beaches.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is dry needling painful? Most patients feel a dull ache or brief muscle twitch rather than sharp pain. Any soreness after treatment usually settles within a day.
How many treatments will I need for tennis elbow? It varies by how long you’ve had symptoms and how irritated the tendon is, but most patients need a course of weekly treatment over several weeks combined with home exercises, rather than a single session.
Can I keep working or exercising while being treated for tennis elbow? In most cases yes, with some modifications. We’ll help you identify which movements to avoid or adjust so you don’t keep re-irritating the tendon while it heals.
Do I need a referral to see a chiropractor for tennis elbow? No — you can book directly with us. If you have private health cover with extras, chiropractic treatment is often eligible for a rebate; check your policy for details.
Is tennis elbow the same as golfer’s elbow? No. Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) affects the tendons on the outside of the elbow, while golfer’s elbow (medial epicondylitis) affects the tendons on the inside. The treatment approach is similar, but the exact location and exercises differ.