The commonest mistake with these is complete rest. It makes sense — it hurts when you use it — and it reliably fails, because the problem is a tendon that has lost capacity and a tendon regains capacity only by being loaded. Six weeks off usually produces six weeks of relief followed by the same pain on the first day back.
What works is graded loading: specific exercises, uncomfortable but not painful, done most days for months, with the load increased on a schedule. It is dull and it is the treatment. Hands-on work, needling and a brace make it tolerable and speed the comfort along; they do not substitute for it.
Then the whole-picture part, which is where these cases are usually won or lost. What changed before it started — a new racquet, a new job, a house renovation, a baby who now weighs ten kilos. What you grip all day. Whether the shoulder and neck are contributing, because they usually are. Sleep, because tendons recover overnight and a person sleeping five hours recovers less. And how many times this has happened before, which tells you whether this is an episode or a pattern.
We are honest about the timeline: three months is common, six is not unusual, and a plan that promises faster is not describing a tendon. See a doctor if the joint is hot and swollen, locks, or followed a tearing incident. The clinic is in Lane Cove, five minutes from the village.
