Features:

  • TheraBand FlexBar Red is ideal for those suffering from tennis elbow pain and looking to increase flexibility and range of motion
  • Clinically researched and proven to reduce elbow pain by 81% and increase strength in the tendons by 72% in tennis elbow patients, Tyler Twist with FlexBar is simple and works
  • Ridged design is easy to grip, twist and oscillate for elbow, wrist, forearm and hand rehabilitation and upper extremity strengthening, lateral epicondylitis therapy
  • FlexBar is portable and convenient exercise, rehab, and injury prevention equipment, packaging includes detailed exercise instructions
  • 12” long, 1 1/2” diameter, made from dry natural rubber, takes 10 pounds of force to bend to a U-shape
How to use the bar for maximum effectiveness

I'm over 50 and weigh 154lbs. I've been playing tennis with pain for about a year now. I used arm bands, took extra days off, etc., in order to keep playing. But a recent tennis racquet and string change led to unbearable pain within several weeks--I could no longer play and I was sporting quite a noticeable swelling around the lateral epicondyle (the bone on the outside of the elbow). It was puffy and angry looking. I was in this situation several years ago, but I never really let the elbow heal properly before returning to the game. Back then I ordered the green flexbar and gave up on it within a few days because it caused too much pain. I took several weeks break and tried the bar again with the same results--no go. This time around, I decided to approach the injury with a little more common sense. First, I found and read the highly successful study that was conducted in 2010 I believe. Next, I ordered the red flexbar which is the second lightest of the four flexbars: yellow, red, green, blue. I set my mind to following the study exactly and I incorporated some other information I read. Choosing the right color to start is perhaps the biggest unknown. Each person/injury is different, so the starting color depends on your best guess--that's why I chose the red bar this time around. I can't emphasize how critical choosing the right bar will be for you. It's better to err on the lighter side and graduate more quickly to the next bar than set yourself back with the wrong bar. The study calls for doing 3 sets of 15 repetitions of the Tyler Twist altogether once per day. Each repetition should last 4 seconds from the time your injured arm is loaded to the time the wrist of your injured arm has reached its full range of motion (full forearm stretch). You reset after each repetition by taking your non-injured arm off the flexbar and returning to the starting position and repeating the exercise. The study states that when you're able to complete 3 sets of 15 (meaning physically complete the three sets without too much pain), then you're ready for the next flexbar in the series. Pain will be present in the beginning (my pain began dissipating after the first two weeks). It's the pain that dictates the color choice and how much torque you use with the non-injured arm when doing the exercise. If pain persists and increases during the 3 sets, it's a safe bet you need to go down to a lighter bar. The pain should decrease during the exercise (and you'll likely have post exercise pain which is normal if it doesn't carry over too long). Over the course of the first two weeks, you can expect the pain to become mobile--meaning the pain may move slightly to a nearby location on the elbow. This is also a sign that your forearm muscles, and tendon fibers near the elbow are beginning to strengthen and adaptively remodel to support further exercise. Don't get discouraged during the first few weeks as you evaluate changing pain symptoms. Also, it'll be normal for your swelling is reduced and your forearm muscles become stronger. That's what you want to happen in order for your arm to become strong enough to take on daily activities. Don't be discouraged at this point because seemingly simple movements will still cause pain. Hang in there because you still have several weeks to go according to the study--which stated that for the average person it takes 6 weeks to heal--some more, some less. A word about doing the exercise: the Tyler Twist. Try to do the exercise about the same time every day so your body has time to properly recover for the next day's session. Don't do the exercise when you first wake up, your muscles, tendons, etc., need to be warmed up somewhat. The Tyler Twist: There are many incorrect examples online. Remember this: do not use an arm band during the exercise. Your arms should be completely straight out in front of you while your injured arm is loaded. Reset between each rep by starting over with only the injured arm bent holding the flexbar by your side. Go at a smooth pace, not fast and not slow. Do not yank your injured arm straight out in front of you--be gentle, especially in the early weeks. Also, at no time will you ever use your injured arm forearm muscles to twist upward--always downward, and only resisting for 4 seconds or slightly longer for each rep. Remember, your injury was caused by gripping, so you'll need to concentrate on a somewhat tighter grip during the resistance exercise (a slightly stronger grip than is required to hold the flexbar immobile while under load)--this may cause slightly more discomfort, but it will eventually cause the body to reinforce the tendon fibers around the bone to make for a stronger structure. In my opinion you should force yourself to stay on your first bar for two weeks to develop a good foundation. If you think it's too easy after a week or so, then simply add a little torque with the uninjured arm/hand in order to make it more difficult for the injured arm during resistance--it's easy to do this by going beyond the starting position with the uninjured hand while setting up. Finally, therapists and doctors are very fond of post-exercise icing and stretching--in fact, they recommend you do it multiple times per day. That's fine if you want to go that route, but here's my take. I injured my elbow by swinging a racquet too many times and my forearm muscles simply weakened and couldn't keep up with the racquet whiplash over time--there was excessive stretching of the forearm muscles. Consequently, the tendons around the elbow began to bear the brunt of the work causing an inflamed elbow. My thought is, the Tyler Twist exercise forces you to stretch your forearm muscles while under load, so there's no need to do any extra stretching to the injured muscles. Next, inflammation on any part of the body sends a signal to the brain that there's a problem that needs repair. While icing may be good for a trauma to reduce major swelling, your tennis elbow is likely due from overuse, not a single traumatic event. With that in mind, it makes sense to allow the inflammation to continue to cause a request for help from my nerve center in order to effect a speedier repair vs impeding signals to the brain by icing. The signals will stop once the inflammation has completely subsided on its own. My two cents. Be sure to do the exercise about the same time every day so you can properly recover before the next day's session. Drink lots of water, avoid excess salt and get as much sleep as possible. Good luck!

Desperate for pain relief - day 3

It's Monday morning and this came to me Friday night (so Friday I only got to use it once before bed). I used it Saturday 3 times and Sunday 3 times. I was feeling desperate because this aching tennis elbow has lasted for months now. I got mine when I had to do a repetitive motion using my mouse and keyboard 22,000 times in the span of 3 days. Killed me ever since. It was invading my sleep - I'd wake up aching. Turning over in bed, I'd wince at the pain of having to lift my arm. Couldn't lift my coffee cup. Really didn't want a cortisone shot - I'm a scaredy cat :( So I looked online for remedies. I found an article that talked about the Theraband Flexbar and I read the reviews. It's cheap enough to be considered a "wth, I'll go for it" purchase. The instructions online on YouTube were helpful. I started the exercises and the first couple hurt - but it's one of those good hurts, like when you stretch a back that's in pain. As you do the exercises, it starts feeling better. The last 2 mornings, I've woken up realizing I got a good night's sleep. I can lift my coffee cup again. It's still sore, but not as bad. Now one thing I want to mention is what I did. I did the usual twist exercise as the video and instructions tell you to (I did 15 reps 3 times a day). I also do it whenever my arm aches because after the first one, it feels better. I also found one video from a doctor who said to find the most tender spot on your elbow and rub it vigorously horizontally, not vertically down the length of your arm. So I did that. He said it helps improve circulation to the spot and heal the inflammation. So I do that. What you're looking for, he said, is for it to hurt for half a minute and then go numb. If you get that numb/feel better feeling, then it's working. If not, don't do it. I have that, so I do it every time I do my exercises, afterwards. I also found another exercise to strengthen my arm using the Flexbar. You hold the end of the bar with the majority of it sticking upright. Then extend your arm and just wiggle the bar back and forth front-ways and then side-ways. It also hurts a bit, but you can put your other arm on the affected one and feel how it's using those muscles. I don't do this as often. Really pleased with this. Even if it didn't improve anymore than where it's at now, I'd be happy. But I can only see it getting stronger and less painful the more I do it. I'll report back after a couple of weeks. UPDATE: It's now been a couple of weeks. My arm is great! It is a teeny tiny bit sore, but I use this Flexbar all throughout the day - just 1-2 twists anytime it starts to hurt (probably 6 twists total every day). I made a video now to help show you what I learned about using it. What helps. Basically, I keep it by my bed to twist 1-2 times when I wake up. I keep it on my desk to twist if I'm every busy doing lots of keyboard to mouse stuff and it gets sore. I even take it in my car because if I'm running tons of errands and it ever gets achy or stiff, I do 1-2 twists at the stop light and I'm good to go! Really happy I found a solution without having to get cortisone shots. I'll probably order the next levels of resistance soon.

This and the "Tyler Twist" exercise are a REAL solution to tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis)

I bought both the red and the green models to allow me to step up my strength building as I recovered from a nasty case of tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis). I had read about and was recommended to do the "Tyler Twist" exercise by my orthopedic specialist. This is something that can only be accomplished with this specific training item. I'd been through 4 weeks of conventional PT sessions and ultrasound treatments with only marginal improvement, so I watched a few YouTube videos and bought these resistance bars. My improvement was noticeable within a little over a week and continued until I had no pain in everyday life or on the court. I do wear a tennis elbow brace while playing simply to avoid any reinjury, however, even times when I've played without it, no elbow pain at all.

Flexbar is truly a miracle!

I am a gastroenterologist and I developed tennis elbow 3 months ago. I talked to my orthopedic colleagues and all of them said to come over and they will inject. So I started reading about it and one metaanalysis mentioned how patients who received injections fared poorly at the end of one year compared to patients who had physical therapy combined with nonsteroidals.. Unfortunately for a gastroenterologist we are conditioned not to like non steroidals. Still, I took Advil and mobic infrequently and got some relief. I went to a physical therapist twice and on those 2 occasions I had great relief albeit temporarily. Then I chanced upon this article which compares Tyler twist with a control group which received physical therapy alone and showed remarkable benefit with Tyler twist using the flexbar. I purchased it after reading some optimistic reviews. As one reviewer pointed out correctly do not give up prematurely . Keep doing it diligently and slowly but surely you will have immense relief. My diseased lateral epicondyle was quite prominent compared to the normal one. After just one week of Tyler twist I had remarkable improvement in pain. After 4 weeks my pain is gone by 95 percent! It is truly unbelievable. I would recommend this highly. And do it slowly and many times a day. You will be rewarded! And like any exercise of any muscle you should probably do it forever! I hope this review helps. And thanks to all the amazon reviewers whose reviews catalysed my belief in flexbar. By the way I bought the red one.

Extra Extra read all about it....THERABAND is a Miracle Cure!!!

Holy Crap!!!! This product is one of the most effective products I've ever used, seriously!!! Hurt my elbow playing Golf in Ireland over St Patrick's weekend, and whether I had a therapy brace on it or not over the past 6 weeks, has not stopped being painful...until Today!! Received the FlexBar over the weekend, and started using it last night. Did about 20-25 reps over the span of 10-15 mins, and today I am pain free!! PAIN Friggin FREE!! Now, I'm not saying or thinking that it might not re-flare, but I plan to keep using it each night for the next week to continue to strengthen the tendon. I will ad to this posting if anything changes, but as of now, If TheraBand is a public company, I will invest in it.

Worth buying but you have to commit to giving it a fair trial

I had struggled with tennis elbow for at least 6 months and it was getting worse despite doing all the "usual" routines ( MD, PT, I did refuse injection) This product was recommended by a friend so I tried it just for grins. I was prepared for it to be worthless. The yellow Bar's use was a little uncomfortable at first ( a week maybe ) but I kept at it and very soon noticed - to my surprise - a lessing of my pain. I switched to the red bar and within a month, pain was greatly reduced. Kept using for another month and became totally pain free. I would recommend to a friend.

Recommended by another climber, it works like magic

I've been suffering from "climber's elbow" for several months; mild in my left arm, severe in my right. Another climber recommended this, so I ordered it via Amazon Prime. I had it two days later and began using it right away. It really accelerated the healing process. When I climb, I pack it in my gym bag and use it between climbs. I had it for less than a week, and nearly sent a 5.12b after 90 minutes of bouldering. Other climbers know they can use it if I'm not using it, so periodically someone comes up and does a stretch or two with it. I also use it between sets when weight training in any way that involves use of elbows. Plus, I use it throughout the day. Other therapies include icing twice a day, heat pad every other night, Ibuprofen three times a week, laser once or twice a month, and a curtailing of some activities (hey, I finished repairing my deck so a curtailing there).

The best recover for tennis elbow!

I been sport climbing at the local rock gym for over 6 months now and damaged the tendons to the lateral epicondylitis. By recommendation from my PT doctor they recommended the Theraband red Flexbar and to follow the simple product directions. After two weeks of using it on a daily basis my tennis elbow has decreased and improvement has already shown. Great product and I couldn't be happier that I get to use this amazing tool!

This works quickly and effectively, if you follow the instructions.

Within one day, this Red TheraBand FlexBar did more to relieve my arm pain and restore mobility that 5 weeks of massages, pain pills and arm bands. I would start with the Red one, which has a low level of resistance. Once you can easily do the 'Tyler twist' 3 times a day, 15 repetitions, the go for the Blue (medium) resistance one. Don't push it by going for the higher resistance ones too quickly. I find that the pain lessens from the 1st to 15th repetition, which signals that the resistance is not too high. I'm older but I decent shape and work out regularly. After 3 weeks, I now have built up to using the red one in the morning, and the green (medium) one in the afternoon and at night. I'll not start to use the Blue one until at least another 4 to 5 weeks of building up my strength and flexibility. If you follow the instructions and do the exercises 3 times a day (maybe 2-3 minutes max each time) it is really a life-saver!

Easy relief to overcoming forearm pain

My Doctor recommended this product for a problem I was having with my tendon in my forearm when lifting heavy weight. The information shows three exercises, one for tennis elbow and one for golfers elbow, and an additional one called "the arch." I have been using the product for about two weeks and I believe I am experiencing some relief. It's small and easy to take with you. My only regret is not buying one with increased resistance. The yellow is 6 lbs., red 10, green 15, and blue 25. For anyone with reasonable arm strength, I would start with the green one. The red one seem to be the standard I see at stores, but you will quickly be able to do a lot of repetitions with only 10 lbs of resistance.

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