What is it?
Tennis Elbow, officially known as ‘Lateral Epicondylitis’ is inflammation of the tendon that attaches to the outside aspect of the elbow (Normally Extensor Carpi Radialis Brevis). Although commonly seen in tennis players, its also caused by a variety of other things.
What are the symptoms?
Normally patients present with pain and tenderness around the outside of the elbow, at the point at which the tendon attaches. They may also experience pain down into the forearm and in some cases there may be localised swelling.
Picking things up can exacerbate the symptoms, often I find that people particularly notice it when doing normal daily things like picking up the kettle to make up a cup of tea!
Repetitive movement of the wrist may also aggravate the symptoms.
Is it tennis Elbow or Golfers Elbow?
its important to differentiate between the 2 prior to commencing any form of treatment or rehab; Tennis elbow occurs on the lateral aspect of the elbow (outside). Golfers elbow occurs on the medial aspect (inside).
What causes it?
Tennis Elbow is normally caused by repetitive wrist movements, such as playing tennis or using a skrewdriver etc. The forearm muscles that extend the wrist become overworked and the point at which they attach to the elbow becomes irritated and inflamed. This then leads to pain and dysfunction.
How do you treat it?
In most cases, tennis elbow can be treated conservatively (i.e. with manual therapy such as osteo/physio and exercises).
Your Practitioner will assess your symptoms and perform a full examination to ensure that Tennis Elbow (or lateral epicondylitis) is in fact the correct diagnosis.
Every patient is different and the treatment will differ from person to person but generally speaking;
Treatment normally involves a combination of soft tissue and articulation to the elbow and forearm. They will most likely also treat the shoulder and wrist and possibly even the thoracic spine and neck. This is because 1) As a result of the tennis elbow you may have started to compensate elsewhere and/or 2) The reason it occured in the first place may be because of an issue or restriction elsewhere.
In some cases they may also choose to use Medial acupuncture alongside the treatment.
This will then be followed up with exercises you can do at home. These will normally involve a variety of exercises including; eccentric exercise for the tendon, exercises to address any restrictions elsewhere that may have lead to the injury in the first place, and some self massage or trigger therapy work.
The Osteopath may advise a tennis elbow strap whilst doing activities that particularly aggravate the symptoms. The theory behind these straps are to create a false insertion point for the muscle to take the pressure off the attachment site in order to allow it to heal.
If conservative treatment doesn’t resolve the issue, In some more severe cases a corticosteroid injection may be advised by your GP.
Think this might be something you’re suffering with?! Why not pop and have a chat with one of our therapists?