January 30, 2023

Is a massage gun good for tennis elbow?

Estimated read time: 3 minutes.

You might not know it by its clinical name of lateral epicondylitis, but if you suffer from what we call tennis elbow, you’ll be all too familiar with the pain it can bring.

Caused when the tendons connecting the muscles to the bone in the arm and elbow become inflamed, tennis elbow can affect people in different ways. Some feel pain and tenderness on the outside of the elbow, while other sufferers find that the pain spreads through their upper and lower arm, and even into their hands.

But there is an answer to this discomfort in the form of a muscle massage gun.

Massage guns for tennis elbow

Tennis elbow is very common, and despite its name only about 5% of sufferers can blame it on their tennis playing days. Instead, it can be caused by any activity that requires a twisting of the wrist or forearm muscles. This can include sports such as rowing, cricket or rock climbing, as well as seemingly innocent pursuits like typing, playing a musical instrument or even gardening.

Whether the swelling of the tendons is caused by straining, injuring or overusing the muscles in the forearm or the elbow, a massage gun is proven to help.

Our own MuscleGun Carbon massage gun delivers deep-tissue, percussive massage using 44 pounds of pressure. By boosting the flow of blood and oxygen to the area, as well as breaking up scar tissue, it helps to reduce swelling, ease the muscle spasms you feel, and lessen the pain you suffer.

Another huge benefit of using a massage gun for elbow pain is convenience – you can treat yourself whenever the pain kicks in without ever having to pay for expensive massage therapists again.

You can also use a massage gun for golfer’s elbow. This is a similar condition to tennis elbow but differs in one key way – where tennis elbow causes pain on the outside of the elbow, golfer's elbow suffers experience pain in the muscles on the inside.

‍How to use massage guns for tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow

When you feel pain, it’s simple to use a massage gun to reduce discomfort while increasing the range of motion in the elbow. Here’s how:

Our MuscleGun Carbon massage gun comes with different head attachments. We recommend using the ball attachment for tennis or golfer’s elbow.
Using the control panel on the top of your device, choose speed setting two.
Place your arm out straight with your palm facing up. Starting at the crease of your elbow joint, gently floating your device in a downward motion towards the bottom of the wrist, then back up again.
Do this for around 2-3 minutes before rotating your arm so your palm is facing downwards. Repeat the motion for another 2-3 minutes.
If you feel that an area needs particular attention you can apply more pressure or adjust the speed setting.