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Tennis Elbow Treatment in Singapore

What is the treatment?

As a treatment that is most effective for tendon inflammation, shockwave therapy is often remarkably successful in treating the condition. In combination with manual therapy, exercise therapy, and dry needling, we achieve excellent results with our patients presenting with tennis elbow.

Dry Needling for Tennis Elbow Trigger Points

When myofascial trigger points in the forearm extensor muscles are contributing to pain, dry needling is used alongside shockwave therapy to reduce muscle guarding so the shockwave treatment works more effectively on the tendon itself.

How does it work?

The treatment is aimed at increasing blood flow to the injured area. Because tendons inherently do not possess a lot of blood supply, healing does not happen readily. Increasing blood flow to the injured area helps to reduce the inflammation and allow for healing to happen.

What is the process of getting this treatment like?

If you are a suitable candidate, your therapist will recommend shockwave therapy for your treatment. During shockwave therapy, you will feel a strong rapid tapping sensation in the area that is being treated. If the area treated is particularly bony, then it may be a little painful. Most patients tolerate it very well.

Any post-procedure pain or downtime? What is the aftercare like?

There are no downtimes. You can resume your routine activities immediately. Though rare, there may be some bruising and discomfort after the treatment. You can ice the area if this is the case.

What results to expect?

While some patients report improvements immediately after 1 session, up to 6 weekly sessions are required for the full benefits and healing effects of the treatment.

With shockwave therapy and physiotherapy at Elevate, most patients notice improvement after 1–3 sessions and achieve significant pain resolution within 6–8 weeks. Chronic tennis elbow (present for more than 6 months) may take 8–12 weeks to fully resolve. Without appropriate treatment, tennis elbow can persist for 12–18 months or longer.

Shockwave therapy delivers high-energy acoustic waves to the affected tendon, stimulating tendon fibre reorganisation, collagen production and new blood vessel formation. These biological processes reverse the underlying tendon degeneration that causes tennis elbow pain. It is the most evidence-supported treatment for lateral epicondylalgia and produces durable results in the majority of patients.

Some cases of tennis elbow do resolve spontaneously over 12–18 months with rest and activity modification. However, without treating the underlying tendon degeneration and rebuilding load capacity through exercise, recurrence is common upon return to aggravating activities. Physiotherapy with shockwave therapy significantly reduces recovery time and the risk of recurrence.

Some patients find shockwave therapy mildly uncomfortable during the session — it is typically described as an intense pulsing sensation over the tendon. Post-session soreness for 24–48 hours is common and is a normal sign that the treatment is stimulating the healing response. The discomfort is generally well tolerated and reduces with each subsequent session as the tendon improves.

Complete rest is not recommended and may actually slow recovery. The principle is load management — reducing activities that provoke sharp pain (particularly gripping and lifting with a straight arm) while maintaining gentle movement. Your physiotherapist will advise specific activity modifications and a graded return-to-activity plan alongside your treatment programme.

Tennis elbow can recur if the underlying causes — repetitive overloading, poor technique or inadequate tendon strength — are not addressed. At Elevate, our treatment programme specifically targets recurrence prevention through progressive tendon strengthening and activity modification advice. Patients who complete the full programme, including the strengthening phase, have a significantly lower recurrence rate.