Taping Tennis Elbow by Yourself: How to Tape Tennis Elbow Like a Pro PT

Taping for Tennis Elbow involves applying adhesive tape to the forearm and elbow to provide support, reduce pain, and promote healing. The primary mechanism through which taping works is by modifying the way forces are transmitted through the affected tendons, particularly the extensor carpi radialis brevis (ECRB) tendon, the tendon affected by Tennis Elbow.

There are several different methods, but in all methods, physical therapists create anchor points, then use those anchor points to apply a directional force to change how the damaged tendon is loaded when you grip and twist. The slight change in the load reduces pain, improves your grip strength, and promotes the healing process of the affected tendon.

One of the immediate benefits of taping is pain relief. By providing support and reducing the load on the affected tendon, good Tennis Elbow taping can significantly reduce pain, allowing you to continue with your daily activities without discomfort.

Of course, this is a huge benefit to everyone with Tennis Elbow, but it's particularly welcome for those who need to perform job tasks that might otherwise trigger pain, such as lifting heavy objects, typing, or gripping tools.

A well-placed Tennis Elbow tape job can alter the direction of stress on the ECRB tendon. This not only helps alleviate pain but also allows the tendon to heal by reducing the load it bears during activities.

This is called attenuation. With attenuation, taping helps distribute the forces more evenly across the elbow, preventing further injury and promoting recovery. The tape itself also takes on a small amount of load to further alleviate the tendon.

Proprioception refers to your awareness of where your body parts are in space. Taping can enhance proprioception by providing sensory feedback to the brain about the position and movement of the elbow and forearm. With good taping, many people also report being more aware of the individual muscles and tendons' movements within each of these body parts.

Improved proprioception helps you move your body in a more controlled and healthy way, which gives the tendon a much-needed break and reduces the risk of recurrence from improper form.

Effective taping for Tennis Elbow allows you to stay active while you recover. Who wouldn't want to continue exercising, participating in your favorite activities, and socializing?

This is important from the clinical standpoint, too, because staying active helps maintain strength and fitness of your whole body, as well as the elbow joint specifically. Treatment methods that overemphasize rest risk further weakening the tissue and lowering its capacity to manage the load and stress of your daily activities. 

1. Preparation: Start by cleaning the skin around your elbow and forearm to ensure the tape adheres properly. Make sure the area is dry and free from oils or lotions.
2. Anchor strip: Cut a strip of tape long enough to wrap around your forearm just below the elbow. Apply this strip with moderate tension, ensuring it is secure but not too tight.
3. Support strip: Cut another strip of tape and apply it diagonally across the elbow, starting from the outer part of the forearm and crossing over the painful area. This strip should provide support to the ECRB tendon.
4. Reinforcement: For added support, you can apply additional strips of tape parallel to the support strip, ensuring they overlap slightly to create a stable and secure taping job.
5. Final check: Once the tape is applied, check for any discomfort or tightness. Adjust the tape if necessary to ensure it is comfortable and does not restrict circulation.

While the Mulligan Taping and other methods of Tennis Elbow taping are effective, taping comes with some major drawbacks:

Many physical therapy elbow tape jobs, including the Mulligan method, tend to lose their effectiveness after 15-20 minutes of activity. Even high-quality KT tape for Tennis Elbow (kinesiology tape) can start to lose its stickiness within a few days. That means you'll have to reapply taping at least daily, if not more frequently.

Frequent visits to a physical therapist or sports medicine practitioner for taping can be time-consuming and inconvenient, especially for those with busy schedules. This is before we get to the problem with cost!

Taping can sometimes irritate the skin, particularly if you have sensitive skin. For older people or people with diabetes, this can be a major downside of using taping to help Tennis Elbow. Even for people with normal skin, prolonged use of adhesive tape can lead to redness, itching, and discomfort.

Applying tape to your own arm, especially on your dominant side, can be challenging. Ensuring the tape is correctly positioned and secure can be difficult without assistance.

For those who find self-taping challenging or ineffective, a Tennis Elbow Brace designed to replicate an expert physical therapy tape job can be an excellent alternative.

One such solution is the elbow brace included in the Alleviate Tennis Elbow System, which replicates all the benefits of an expert taping for Tennis Elbow.

Alleviate was founded by a patient-and-clinician duo to bring the effective chronic pain treatment from physical therapy offices to everyone's home. With our Tennis Elbow System, that includes the Guided Recovery Program, you can use the Alleviate Method to recover from Tennis Elbow at home. No physical therapy training required!