Tennis Elbow (Lateral Epicondilits)

Causes

Repetitive actions (eg, boxing, push ups, bicep curls, physical labor, gardening, craft activities)

Improper training (eg, poor positioning when striking a tennis ball, lifting too heavy a weight, hitting to hard a surface)

Improper technique (eg, hitting a tennis ball late on the backhand, gripping a weight with too much wrist extension)

Weakness and poor functional moment of the shoulder and shoulder muscles leads to fatigue, which puts an overemphasis on the extensor muscles of the forearm leading to micro tearing and tendon strain of the extensor tendon.

Symptoms

Most commonly tennis elbow starts with a gradual onset.

There will often be a history of overuse without a specific incident/trauma.

Symptom onset generally occurs within one to three days after the initial overuse injury.

The person complains of pain over the lateral elbow that worsens with activity and improves with rest.

The person will also often describe aggravating conditions such as a lifting a cup, using a screwdriver or the backhand stroke in tennis.

Pain will be felt at the bony prominence at the outer side of the elbow (Lateral Epicondyle) and may radiate down the forearm to the wrist.

Treatment

Rest is essential in the first week to two weeks after the initial injury.

Stop or reduce any training or activities that are aggravating the pain.

Apply local ice in the first 72 hrs after the symptoms begin or if the symptoms are aggravated.

Use a forearm brace to reduce the muscular pull on the tendon and epicondyle insertion.

There is a high risk of chronicity with tennis elbow, it is important to seek treatment.

A mild injury could take two to four weeks.  A more severe injury could take between eight weeks and three months.