Tennis elbow is a very common condition in the clinic, ironically many of the patients we see who have this condition rarely pick up a tennis racquet! So what really causes tennis elbow?
Tennis elbow (also known as lateral epicondylitis) is a painful condition on the outside of the elbow caused by repetitive microtrauma of a tendon. It involves the forearm tendons along the outside part of the elbow becoming inflamed or degenerative (usually the extensor carpi radialis brevis). This muscle is used a lot in tennis hence the name!
Symptoms of tennis elbow usually include a gradual onset of lateral epicondyle pain (the outside of the elbow). Symptoms may begin with pain only after activity, then progress to some pain prior to activity. This may resolve as the activity continues but returns after. Pain then may occur during normal daily activities or at rest. Gripping and lifting objects can be particularly painful with some patients reporting decreased grip strength. Simple tasks like lifting up a kettle may become painful.
Interestingly, cooks, butchers, and auto workers often develop tennis elbow more than the rest of the population, including tennis players. Manual labour trades such as plumbers, painters and carpentry are also often more likely to develop this condition. However, patients are often unaware of any specific microtrauma occurring and thats why assessment and a thorough examination is crucial in order to look for deficiency in strength and the way you move in order to establish a root cause.
Tennis Elbow can effectively be treated with early intervention. This may involve activity modification such as rest from aggravating activities for a short period (gripping/lifting/ repetitive elbow movements/mouse clicking). If you do play racquet sports, you may need to have your equipment checked to make sure it fits properly. Check your string tension, maybe multifilament strings may help. Check your grip size – wider grips might also help. Application of a Tennis Elbow Strap may be helpful.
Additional treatments that aim to facilitate tendon healing such as manual therapy, laser therapy, and shockwave therapy can be very effective with this condition and we often combine one or more of these modalities as part of our treatment approach in clinic. Your therapist will also start you on a load management programme to further support rehabilitation which is essential for this type of tendinopathy, we use our K Force equipment in clinic to ensure you return to full strength.
If you are struggling with Tennis Elbow then don’t hesitate to contact us for more info or book online to start your journey back to being pain free!
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