Tennis elbow, or lateral epicondylitis, is a painful condition of the elbow caused by overuse. Tennis elbow is an inflammation of the tendons that join the forearm muscles on the outside of the elbow.
Causes
- Overuse
The cause is repeated contraction of the forearm muscles that you use to straighten and raise your hand and wrist.
- daily activities such as:
- using scissors
- cutting tough food
- gardening
- sporting activities that involve high amounts of throwing
- swimming
- Manual work that involves repetitive turning or lifting of the wrist, such as plumbing, typing, or bricklaying.
- Unknown causes
Symptoms
- Pain or burning on the outer part of your elbow
- Weak grip strength
Pain and weakness may make it difficult to:
- Shake hands or grip an object
- Turn a doorknob
- Hold a coffee cup
Fast facts on tennis elbow
- Tennis elbow is caused by small tears in the tendons that join the forearm to the outside of the elbow.
- 50 percent of tennis players will experience tennis elbow.
- Overuse of the forearm with incorrect wrist action can lead to tennis elbow.
- Physiotherapy, support devices, and steroid injections can be used to treat the condition.
- Certain exercises that provide strength to the supportive muscles in the arm and shoulder, such as the Tyler Twist, can help symptoms.
- Stretch carefully ahead of racquet sports to prevent tennis elbow.
Symptoms develop over time and may gradually worsen over weeks or months. Nonsurgical treatment includes:
EXERCISES
- Palm down wrist curl with dumbbell
- Supination with a dumbbell
- Wrist extensor stretch
- Wrist flexion and extension
- Towel / rubber band twist
- Ball squeezing
