What is Tennis Elbow?

Tennis elbow, also known as lateral epicondylitis, is a condition that occurs when the tendons in the elbow are stressed or damaged. This is usually a repetitive stress injury, which can result from improper form during sports such as tennis, or everyday activities such as typing, gardening, painting, hammering and playing musical instruments. The pain is caused by damage to the tendons (that connect muscle to bone) whose function is to bend the wrist in the direction of the back of the hand. The sensation can be pain or burning at the outer side of the elbow, as well as losing grip strength.

Tennis Elbow Symptoms

The main symptom of Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) is pain on the outside of the elbow. The pain can vary from mild to severe, and may be felt when the elbow is moving or still. Other symptoms include:

• A burning sensation on the outside of the elbow 
• Weakness in the elbow and forearm
• Pain that worsens with activities that use the forearm, such as holding a glass, opening a door, or extending the forearm
• Tenderness and/or swelling in the elbow
• Difficulty fully straightening the arm
• Pain in the back of the hand

Tennis Elbow Treatment in Walnut Creek

With any injury, it’s important to stop doing the things that cause your pain. If swinging a tennis racquet causes your pain, you’ll need to temporarily stop playing. If you have a sales job and shake hands all day and that hurts, you’ll need to avoid shaking hands for a while, possibly wearing an arm brace to communicate to your clients why you’re not shaking their hand.

But to get yourself back into the game, or to get yourself back able to perform your job as soon as possible, rehabilitate your elbow by performing stretches to relieve the excess tension, followed by strengthening exercises to build up your capacity. Then, when you gradually reintroduce your activity, you’ll be strong enough to perform it well.

Treatments at Acorn Wellness Center will focus on not only creating proper movement between all the bones of the arm, but also focus on reducing the muscle tension pattern that is putting stress on the tendon in the first place. Dr Bartlett will perform specific massage techniques to eliminate the tension, and guide you on stretching and strengthening protocols to create an effective recovery plan. Additional treatments include:

• Rest the arm from activities that worsen symptoms
• Wear a brace or splint to decrease stress on the injured tissues
• Apply ice packs to the forearm to reduce swelling
• Avoid activities that bring on the symptoms and increase stress on the tendons
• Begin strengthening and stretching exercises once your symptoms have decreased

Tennis Elbow vs Golfer’s Elbow?

Both conditions are repetitive stress injuries of the tendons of the elbow, but the pain of tennis elbow occurs at the bony bump on the outside of the elbow (the lateral epicondyle) while the pain of golfer’s elbow occurs primarily at the bony bump on the inside of the elbow (the medial epicondyle).