Tennis elbow, also known as lateral epicondylalgia, causes pain around the outside of the elbow. It develops when the common extensor tendon becomes sensitive after being repeatedly overloaded.
You don’t need to play tennis to experience it. The condition often affects people whose work, exercise or hobbies involve repeated gripping, lifting, wrist extension or forearm rotation.
Symptoms
Common symptoms include:
- Pain or tenderness on the outside of the elbow
- Pain spreading into the forearm or hand
- Discomfort during gripping or lifting
- Pain when unscrewing a jar or lifting a cup
- Reduced grip strength
- Arm weakness or fatigue
- Pain that settles with rest but returns during use
- Morning stiffness or aching towards the end of the day
Symptoms often develop gradually, although they can also appear after a sudden increase in activity.
Causes
Tennis elbow is usually linked to repeated or excessive loading of the tendons that help extend the wrist and fingers.
Common contributing activities include:
- Tennis and racket sports
- Weight training
- Repetitive computer or mouse use
- Manual work
- Decorating and painting
- Gardening and DIY
- Using hand tools
- Repeated lifting or carrying
- A sudden increase in training volume
The tendon isn’t necessarily torn or permanently damaged. It has often become less able to tolerate its current workload and needs a carefully managed strengthening programme.
Diagnosis
Tennis elbow can usually be diagnosed during a clinical assessment.
Your clinician will discuss your symptoms and assess the specific demands of your work, sport and daily routine. They may test:
- Grip strength
- Wrist and elbow movement
- Resisted wrist extension
- Forearm rotation
- Tenderness around the outer elbow
- Neck and nerve function where appropriate
Further investigations are sometimes used to rule out other causes or examine the tendon in more detail, particularly when symptoms are unusual or aren’t responding as expected.
This assessment allows us to create a clear, personalised recovery plan from your first appointment.
Treatment Options
Treatment focuses on reducing irritation while rebuilding the tendon’s ability to cope with gripping, lifting and repeated arm movement.
Strengthening and rehabilitation
Progressive strengthening is usually the main treatment. Your exercises will be tailored to your current symptoms and gradually increased as your grip strength and function improve.
The aim is to build a more resilient tendon that can manage your work, hobbies and sport.
Activity modification
You may need to temporarily adapt aggravating tasks, but complete rest is rarely the best long-term solution. We’ll help you find the right balance between settling symptoms and keeping the arm active.
Laser therapy
Laser therapy may be used alongside exercise rehabilitation to help reduce pain and support improved grip function.
Shockwave therapy
Shockwave therapy may be considered for persistent tendon pain that hasn’t responded sufficiently to a structured rehabilitation programme.
Manual therapy
Hands-on treatment may help reduce muscle tension, improve joint comfort and make it easier to begin or progress exercise.
Medical acupuncture
Medical acupuncture may be used to help manage pain and improve comfort as part of a wider treatment plan.
Recovery Timelines
Tennis elbow usually improves gradually rather than overnight.
Milder or more recent cases may start to settle within several weeks. Symptoms that have been present for longer may need several months of consistent rehabilitation before gripping, lifting and sport feel fully comfortable again.
Your recovery time may be influenced by:
- How long you’ve had symptoms
- The physical demands of your job
- Your sport or training load
- Your current grip strength
- How consistently you complete rehabilitation
- Whether aggravating tasks can be temporarily adapted
We’ll review your progress and adjust your programme as your strength and confidence improve.
When to Seek Help
Arrange an assessment when elbow pain is:
- Affecting your work or hobbies
- Limiting your ability to grip, lift or carry
- Interfering with exercise or sport
- Becoming more painful or frequent
- Not improving with simple activity changes
- Causing noticeable weakness
Seek medical advice promptly if your symptoms followed a significant injury, your elbow looks deformed, you cannot move it normally, or you develop marked swelling, persistent numbness or significant loss of strength.
Our team will identify what’s driving your symptoms and provide a tailored rehabilitation plan that supports your recovery every step of the way.
Clinically Reviewed By
Phil Williams
Director and Consultant Physiotherapist
You DON’t need to suffer with ELBOW pain
Elbow pain should not stop you from staying active, sleeping well, or doing the things you enjoy. At Great Northern Physiotherapy, we’ll help you understand what is causing your pain and create a tailored plan to get you moving with confidence again.
Book your initial assessment and take the first step toward pain-free movement.
TENNIS ELBOW PAIN FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Not necessarily. Any repeated activity involving gripping, lifting or wrist movement can overload the tendon on the outside of the elbow.
Complete rest is rarely required. Temporarily reducing the most painful activities can help, but gradual strengthening is important for long-term recovery.
A strap may reduce discomfort during certain tasks for some people. It is usually a short-term support rather than a replacement for rehabilitation.
Most cases can be diagnosed through assessment. A scan may be considered when symptoms are unusual, followed an injury or aren’t improving as expected.
It can return if activity increases faster than the tendon’s capacity. Continuing strength work and managing sudden changes in workload can reduce the risk.
Related PHYSIO SERVICES
To support your recovery, your physiotherapist may recommend one or more of our related services:
Book your initial assessment and take the first step toward pain-free movement.