Attention tennis elbow sufferers:

Could a short, twisty rubber bar be the solution to your painful elbow problems? That’s what a recent trial concluded. In an uncompleted study, two groups of tennis elbow victims, one doing exercises with dumbbells and the other using a rubber bar, were compared. The results were so drastically different, with the rubber bar group coming out ahead, that the study was aborted so everyone could use the rubber bar.

So what is this magical tool, you ask, and what does it do?

It’s a Thera-Band Flexbar hand exerciser, which you can twist and bend. According to Tim Tyler, a clinical research associate at Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, who headed the study, it allows you to do “isolated eccentric” exercises, meaning that it provides resistance while the muscles lengthen. When I spoke to him, he likened the exercise to lowering the barbell while doing a chest press: As you slowly lower, you have to work to control the resistance of the weight, so your muscles lengthen as they contract. Here’s a link to a video of the exercise with the rubber bar.

Since the study wasn’t completed, there isn't hard data to cite. But given the fact that many of the other solutions, things like cortisone shots, platelet replacement therapy, and surgery, are much more invasive, this at-home exercise might be worth a try. Tyler recommends three sets of 15 repetitions twice a day, though only after you’ve gotten the OK from your doctor or physical therapist.

Of course, if you have great technique like us zoo folk, you probably don't have to use this!!!