Tennis elbow is a condition that causes chronic tendon damage to the tendon on the outside of the elbow joint. The tendon is usually damaged as a result of an overuse condition, such as sports or work activities. The type of tendon damage is called tendinosis, which causes a chronic tendon irritation and microscopic tears. When the damaged tendon is inspected under a microscope, the tendon is seen to have scar tissue and blood vessel formation — evidence of a chronic healing process. What is not seen under the microscope is evidence of inflammation, as is the case with tendonitis.
Symptoms of tennis elbow:
Pain and tenderness outside of your elbow and in the muscles of your forearm is the most common symptom. Symptoms may develop gradually overtime; it may not be able to link them to any particular event or injury. But you can notice and connect to a recent change in your sporting activity or work, including the techniques or equipment you use. Sometimes actions like lifting a heavy object, can cause sudden pain in your elbow.
The pain can vary from mild discomfort to severe pain that keeps you awake at night. It may stop you doing simple actions like holding a cup.
Pain may get worse when you grip something like shaking someone’s hand, repetitive wrist movements, bending your wrist backwards against a force, or lifting a weight. You may also find that you have a stiff or mildly swollen elbow. But in many cases you’ll still be able to move your elbow normally.
Proper Rest and self-help treatments can ease the pain for people with mild symptoms of tennis elbow. If your symptoms don’t improve after four to six weeks, visit General Physician for advice. If you have severe elbow pain, can’t move your elbow or have loss of feeling, contact Pain Management Specialist straightaway.
Causes of tennis elbow:
Tennis elbow is usually caused when the muscles and tendons become damaged. This can happen if you’re repeating the same motion over and over again(due to overuse). If you have a poor physical condition, weak arm muscles or a previous injury affects on elbow then there is more risk. You could have a problem if you do a lot of exercise after being fairly inactive for a long time. You’re also at risk if the wrong technique or equipment is used for a task you’re doing. Tennis elbow have more chances of reoccurrence.
If you are a racquet sport player, like tennis or badminton, it can cause tennis elbow, mainly from over-forceful backhand shots. But there’s less risk now as racquets are lighter. Most people who get tennis elbow don’t play tennis is the surprise thing you will find.
The most common cause of tennis elbow is with actions where you’re repeatedly and forcefully gripping and twisting your wrist. This can include jobs and hobbies like plumbing, carpentry, gardening, decorating, laying bricks, using a screwdriver, sewing, painting and knitting.
Handling heavy weights can also cause tennis elbow, especially if you’re new to it – like carrying a new baby, using a computer keyboard or mouse for long periods can also develop tennis elbow, as these activities can tear the tendons in your arm. The bigger the tears, the quicker development of tennis elbow.
Treatment of tennis elbow:
The treatment for tennis elbow partly depends on how long you’ve had it and which treatments you’ve undergone or opt. For full recovery, you’ll need to rest your arm and avoid the activities that make it worse. This also gives your tendon time to heal. In most people, this pain conditions improves within a year. If it takes longer time then reaching pain management specialist is advisable.