Tennis Elbow | What is it?
Tennis elbow, otherwise known as lateral epicondylitis, creates pain at the outside of the elbow where the tendons of the extensor muscles connect to the elbow. This area is known as the common extensor origin as it is the starting point for five important extensor muscles of the forearm, wrist and fingers.
By contrast, golfer’s elbow describes pain on the inside of the elbow. If you think you may have golfer’s elbow, more information can be found here.
Tendons are a thick band of fiborous tissue that connect muscle to bone. Tendinopathy or tendinitis are terms used for common conditions that people experience on a day to day basis. Effectively it is pain derived from an irritated tendon.
Tennis elbow, which is tendinopathy of the wrist extensor muscles, is the most common condition at the elbow. It is estimated to affect 1-3% of the population each year. It accounts for two thirds of persistent elbow pain seen by GP’s.
How did I get tennis elbow?
If you have pain around the elbow, forearm or wrist you may be wondering whether you have tennis elbow. This condition is caused by common overuse or repetitive strain injuries resulting in damage to the tendon.
A leading cause of tennis elbow is poor load management. Therefore it is often dominant in sporting individuals or those who perform repetitive gripping actions. It is estimated that 50% of tennis players have experienced this condition.
Tendons are more susceptible to injury in middle age therefore tennis elbow predominantly affects people between the ages of 35-54.
What’s going on?
Tendons (and in general all soft tissue) are in a constant continuum of healing. When a tendon becomes painful in the first 3-6 weeks, be it a first time episode or a flare up of a persistent problem, we class this as the ‘reactive phase’. Typically when symptoms are more acute and irritable.
Over time the inflammation becomes more degenerative in nature due to a build up of scar tissue. This is termed as a ‘disrepair’ of the natural healing process which usually improves as you build strength but increase again when trying to complete the repetitive moment, such as returning to work or sport.
What are the common symptoms?
Depending on the phase of healing, symptoms can be different in severity. Here are the most common symptoms of tennis elbow:
– Pain and tenderness over the outside of the elbow and forearm
– Pain when lifting or gripping
– Discomfort when making a fist
– Unable to lay on the elbow
– Tingling in wrist/hand (due to secondary irritation of the adjacent nerve)
How long will it take to heal?
Tendons take time to heal. The duration of the recovery process, which is usually months, depends on the stage of tendon injury and how irritable it is.
There are number of treatment options for tennis elbow. We have observed excellent results with shockwave therapy. For a solid, long-term recovery a personalised gradual loading programme is imperative.
For more information on treatment options, visit our treatment for Tennis elbow blog.
If you think you could be experiencing Tennis elbow, click here to book an appointment with one of our experienced physios who can provide an accurate diagnosis and will identify the best treatment option for you.
