Tennis Elbow - Causes and Treatment

"Tennis elbow" is a common term for a conditionTennis elbow is an overuse injury. It's caused by
caused by overuse of arm and forearm muscles thatrepeated contraction of the forearm muscles that you
results in elbow pain. You don't have to ply tennis touse to straighten and raise your hand and wrist. The
get this, but the term came into use because it can berepeated motions and stress to the tissue may result
a significant problem for some tennis players.in inflammation or a series of tiny tears in the tendons
Tennis elbow is caused by either abrupt or subtle injurythat attach the forearm muscles to the bone at the
of the muscle and tendon area around the outside ofoutside of your elbow.
the elbow. Tennis elbow specifically involves the areaTennis Elbow Treatment
where the muscles and tendons of the forearm attachTennis elbow is the common name for the
to the outside bony area (called the epicondyle) of theinflammation of the tendons (also know as tendonitis )
elbow. Your doctor may call this condition lateralattached to the lateral, or outside, of the elbow at the
epicondylitis. Another common term, "golfer's elbow,"bony bump of the humerus.
refers to the same process occurring on the inside of( upper arm bone ). The medical term for this bony
the elbow—what your doctor may call medialprominence is called the lateral epicondyle, which is the
epicondylitis. Overuse injury can also affect the backreason that the condition is also refered to as 'lateral
or posterior part of the elbow as well.epicondylitis'. The muscles that move the wrist and
The pain caused by tennis elbow normally lasts for 6fingers attach to a tendon that is connected to the
to 12 weeks. Some people have pain for as little as 3bone structure in this area.
weeks, while others may experience discomfort in theTennis elbow patients suffer experience pain on the
elbow joint for several years.outer or top part of the elbow. This pain may be
Symptomsexperienced farther up the forearm and occasionally
Tennis elbow symptoms usually begin gradually. Theeven in the hand.
main symptom is pain, which may begin with a dullThe pain is felt during grasping activities and may be
aching or soreness on the outer part of the elbow thataccompanied by a feeling of weakness. Sufferers
goes away within 24 hours after an activity. As timemay have an dull ache in the area that is present at
goes on, it may take longer for the pain to go away.rest or at night after activity. Once the tendons
The condition may further progress to pain with anybecome irritated and inflammed is it difficult for them to
movement, even during everyday activities, such asheal on their own because these tendons are
lifting a jug of milk. Pain may spread to the hand, otherconstantly used every time the hand grips or
parts of the arm, shoulder, or neck (referred pain).squeezed anything.
Tennis elbow Causes