Get Relief from Tennis Elbow Pain With Easy Treatment Options

Tennis Elbow Pain Management

Tennis elbow normally affects people who belong to the age group of 35-65 years. The term is associated with a pain which generally arises on the outside of the elbow. This not only affects the tennis player. Talking more about it, tennis elbow which medical term is Lateral Epicondylitis is a most common condition which spans in severity from inflammation of the elbow tendons to an actual tear within the tendon.

This generally caused by continuous user or movement that puts a strain on the two elbow tendons, extending to the wrist. People suffering from tennis elbow can suffer severe pain during extension or movement of their wrist. Activities like lifting a coffee mug or jug can cause pain related to with lateral epicondylitis.[1]

If you are suffering from such a condition, you can wear a tennis elbow brace to get some comfort. But sometimes you may require some other treatments to deal with the pain.  But before that, you need to know about the causes and symptoms of the tennis elbow pain. If you don’t know much about the condition, this article will help you with that. Understand the condition properly so that you can prevent it.

What is Tennis Elbow?

Tennis elbow is the pain usually developed on the outside of the elbow when gripping. Even though it is associated with a tennis game, it can also affect your daily activities like doing the housework, shaking hands with a friend and more. For people like tennis coaches or tennis players, this condition can turn out as a bane of their life.

This is an overuse injury, which called as lateral epicondyle. This condition affects the elbow’s an outside tendon. This is quite common among the tennis players as they put constant stress on the tendon from hitting. The stress can be increased with mistiming the ball. However, tennis elbow is less common among double-handed backhands. Well, you can get some comfort by using tennis elbow brace, but there are some other things that you should consider.  

Common Causes of Tennis Elbow Pain

A part of the muscle called tendon attached to the bone. The forearm tendons attach the muscle of the forearm to the elbow’s outer bone. Talking about elbow pain causes, it develops when the particular muscle in the forearm called ECRB- Extensor Carpi Radialis Brevis gets damaged.

With continuous stress, the ECRB gets weakened and that causes tears in the tendon’s muscle. The tears cause inflammation, and you will feel pain in your elbow. The condition can be triggered by the activities which involve repetitive twisting of the wrist. The condition can result from:

• Tennis game.
• Racquetball.
• Weightlifting.
• Fencing.
• Squash.

Tennis elbow pain can severely affect the people who are involved in the jobs that require repetitive movements of arm and gripping. For example:

• Carpentry.
• Ranking.
• Knitting.
• Typing.
• Painting and more.

Risk Factors in Tennis Elbow

Some factors that can increase the risk of tennis elbow consists:

Age:

A study has proved that tennis elbow affects people of all ages. The case is quite common in people between the ages of 40 to 50.

Occupation:  

People who are involved in jobs which require repetitive motions of the wrist and arm can suffer from tennis elbow pain. They mostly develop elbow pain causes and symptoms. For instance, plumbers, painters, butchers, carpenters, etc.

Certain activities and sports:

Participating in racket games dramatically increases the risk of tennis elbow. But if you know about perfect stroke technique, you can lower the chances of tennis elbow.

Common Symptoms of Tennis Elbow

The most common symptom of tennis elbow is pain and tenderness in the knob located on the outside of the elbow. Talking about the knob, it is the place where the injured tendons connect to the bone. In some cases, the pain can move into the upper as well to the lower arm. Even though it is a damage in the elbow, you can face problems while doing normal things with the hands. Tennis elbow pain causes pain while:

• Lifting something.
• Gripping an object, for example, bat or tennis racket.
• Opening a door or shaking hands.
• Raising your hand or straightening your wrist.

The condition is quite similar to the golfer’s elbow. While tennis elbow affects the outside tendons, golfer’s elbow affects the inside tendons of the elbow.[2]

Effective Ways to Treat Tennis Elbow

The treatment of tennis elbow greatly depends on the symptoms and elbow pain causes. However, there are four major types of treatment available to deal with tennis elbow. These are:

Therapy

If the tennis elbow symptoms are related to tennis, the doctor will suggest someone who can evaluate your tennis gameplay technique or the movements. The experts can suggest you some effective steps to lower the stress amount on your injured tissue. A professional physical therapist can teach you some useful exercise through which you can stretch your muscles and can also strengthen the muscles.

The exercise will focus mainly on the muscles of your forearm. You can practice eccentric exercise. Here you need to lower down your wrist slowly after raising it. While doing this, you can use tennis elbow brace to reduce the stress level on the damaged tissues. Ice therapy can also lower the pain as well as swelling in the elbow. Most of the doctors recommend doing it for around 20 to 30 minutes every 3 to 4 hours. Do this for around 3 to 5 days or until the pain is disappeared.

Surgical and Some Other Medical Procedures

Injections:

To treat the tennis elbow, the doctor may inject platelet-rich plasma, Botox or some form of an irritant into the injured tendon. In some cases, dry needling can be very helpful. Here the needle pierces the tendon in many places.  

TENEX Treatment:

Under such treatment, using an ultrasound technique the doctor will insert a special needle through your skin and into the damaged tendon. After that, the ultrasonic energy will vibrate the needle swiftly. That will liquidize the tissues.

Medical surgery:

If you have a serious condition of tennis elbow and if you don’t feel any improvement in the symptoms even after one year of treatment, the doctor will suggest you for surgical treatment. Through the surgery, the doctor will remove the damaged tissues. This can be performed through a large incision, or you can go through small incisions. To speed up the recovery process you can practice rehabilitation exercises.

Tennis Elbow Braces

The tennis elbow brace are made from neoprene which works well when in contact with the body. This works well in different ways and provides cushioning if the elbow gets bumped. One of the primary purposes of the braces is compression as their primary purpose. The compression prevents the pain or inflammation from spreading and forces the lymph fluid back into the bloodstream. When swelling reduces, it also lowers the pain.

Another purpose of braces is limiting the mobility of the arm at the elbow. It prevents the arm from extending to its limit which can cause a lot of strain on the tissues and tendon. It also helps in providing required rest to the arm. When the purpose of braces is to provide heat to the elbow, it also promotes blood circulation in that area. It helps the blood to take lymph fluid away from the wound and provides required nutrients and oxygen to the damaged area.

Lifestyle Changes and Home Remedies

The doctor will recommend the following self-care measures to lower the pain caused by tennis elbow:

You should completely avoid the activities that can increase the elbow pain.

You can try different over-the-counter pain relievers, for example, ibuprofen which includes Advil, Motrin IB or can take naproxen like Aleve.

You can apply ice to the affected area for around 15 to 20 minutes for 3 to 4 times a day.

Always be careful about using proper technique while doing your regular activities. Make sure you are avoiding the works which require repetitive wrist movement.

Some Tips to Prevent Elbow Pain

There is a lot of ways through which you can prevent pain caused by tennis elbow. These are:

• Always use the right technique and equipment while playing sports, especially tennis.
• Practice exercise which can strengthen the forearm and make it flexible.
• Remember to icing the elbow after extensive physical activity.
• Provide proper rest to your elbow if you feel pain while bending or straightening your arm.

This is a condition which needs special cares. With the steps mentioned above, you can avoid putting a strain on your elbow’s tendons. Through this, you can lower the chances of suffering from tennis elbow. It's your life, so take good care of it.

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References

1..https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/tennis-elbow-lateral-epicondylitis#1

2..https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/tennis-elbow/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20351991