Tennis Elbow
Overview
- Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) is a painful condition that occurs when tendons in your elbow are overloaded, usually by repetitive motions of the wrist and arm.
- Despite its name, athletes aren’t the only people who develop tennis elbow. People whose jobs feature the types of motions that can lead to tennis elbow include plumbers, painters, carpenters and butchers.
- The pain of tennis elbow occurs primarily where the tendons of your forearm muscles attach to a bony bump on the outside of your elbow. Pain can also spread into your forearm and wrist.
- Rest and over-the-counter pain relievers often help relieve tennis elbow.
Symptoms
The pain associated with tennis elbow may radiate from the outside of your elbow into your forearm and wrist. Pain and weakness may make it difficult to:
Shake hands or grip an object
Turn a doorknob
Hold a coffee cup
Causes
Tennis elbow is an overuse and muscle strain injury. The cause is repeated contraction of the forearm muscles that you use to straighten and raise your hand and wrist. The repeated motions and stress to the tissue may result in a series of tiny tears in the tendons that attach the forearm muscles to the bony prominence at the outside of your elbow.
As the name suggests, playing tennis — especially repeated use of the backhand stroke with poor technique — is one possible cause of tennis elbow. However, many other common arm motions can cause tennis elbow, including:
Using plumbing tools
Painting
Driving screws
Cutting up cooking ingredients, particularly meat
Repetitive computer mouse use
Risk factors
Factors that may increase your risk of tennis elbow include:
Age. While tennis elbow affects people of all ages, it’s most common in adults between the ages of 30 and 50.
Occupation. People who have jobs that involve repetitive motions of the wrist and arm are more likely to develop tennis elbow. Examples include plumbers, painters, carpenters, butchers and cooks.
Certain sports. Participating in racket sports increases your risk of tennis elbow, especially if you employ poor stroke technique.
Diagnosis
During the physical exam, your doctor may apply pressure to the affected area or ask you to move your elbow, wrist and fingers in various ways.
In many cases, your medical history and the physical exam provide enough information for your doctor to make a diagnosis of tennis elbow. But if your doctor suspects that something else may be causing your symptoms, he or she may suggest X-rays or other types of imaging tests.
Our expert providers are experienced and skilled at treating tennis elbow and are your source for expert treatment of tennis elbow in Westminster and Denver Colorado. Not only are we the premier treatment for spine injuries and chiropractic in Westminster and Denver Colorado, but we also specialize in many other advanced treatment techniques such as shockwave, cold laser, graston technique, KT Taping, activator, instrument aided spinal alignments, drop table, toggle, in house rehab services, and on site digital xrays. We are your Premier destination for tennis elbow treatment in Westminster Colorado and Denver Colorado Chiropractor.