What Is Tennis Elbow All About?

Tennis elbow, or lateral epicondylitis, is an injury which brings upon so much pain to people who acquire it. The specific reasons behind tennis elbow is unknown; however, doctors believe that it is mainly a result of micro-tears on the tendons attached to the forearm muscles. In fact, tennis elbow does not only affect tennis players but individuals whose occupation may require them to constantly use forearms for lifting or gripping. Individuals who repeatedly use their forearms and elbow in tasks have a high chance of acquiring tennis elbow.

What is tennis elbow? Defining the medical condition Tennis elbow occurs when the tendons attached to the outside of the elbow suffer from mini-tears. These tendons which are attached to the muscles helps the wrist to move back. People think that tennis elbow is a case of inflammation like arthritis. Since it is thought of as arthritis in some aspects,people think that is a degenerative disease that cannot be stopped. In fact, it is an injury resulting from minuscule tears in the tendon that have not healed yet.
What is tennis elbow and what are the symptoms?
Commonly, doctors often check for these usual symptoms during the physical examination:

* Pain that starts from the outside of the elbow into the forearm and wrist
* Pain is experienced once the outside of the elbows touch or bump
* A weak grip
* A painful grip during certain activities, like holding a mug or twisting a doorknob.

Patients with tennis elbow have varying degrees of pain that can really become excruciating to the point of being immobilized. Several exams may be required to properly diagnose if the patient has tennis elbow or another condition that is causing forearm pain. Tests include:

X-ray An X-ray is valuable for diagnosis to detect other conditions such as bone fractures or swelling in the elbow joint, which is not tennis elbow at all.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) This is required for those who experience persistent pain and limited motion in their arm which can further pinpoint some underlying condition.

Learning what is tennis elbow and its symptoms is valuable. The more people become aware of this condition, the better chance they have at taking precautionary measures to avoid having tennis elbow.

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Tennis Elbow Exercises : A Must For Tennis Player

Tennis players all over the world find tennis as a very good way of keeping them in top form. Unfortunately, repeated practice can also cause injuries that produces tennis elbow pain among players. It is necessary for tennis players to perform stretching exercises before playing. Stretching warms up the muscles and prepares it for vigorous exercise. Here are some basic tennis elbow exercises that can be done before playing tennis:

Wrist extensors stretches

The basic step in this exercise is keeping your elbow straight as much as possible. Using your injured hand, bend your wrist downward palm down as far as you can. A little help from the healthy hand can assist the bending of the wrist.

Hold for at least 20 seconds and then release. You would experience a mild stretch along the top of your forearm and at the elbow. Some people also experience a mild pain.When severe pain is felt, this indicates too much strain so lessen the bending of the wrist. Do at least 10 times, twice a day.

Wrist flexor stretches

Perform the whole routine of wrist extensor stretches. Try bending the wrist of the injured hand with some help from the other hand. Never forget to stretch as much as you can for any of the given routine. Perform the routine for 10 times,twice a day. In the end, the slight pain felt at the very start would lessen as your hands develop strength and flexibility. Develop the habit and you would develop strength.

Squeezing a ball

This is known as a basic tennis elbow exercises that promotes wrist and forearm strength. Get a ball that you can squeeze, squeeze the ball as much as you can (with little or no pain) for 5 seconds and then relax. One of the best routines to strengthen your wrist and forearms. Repeat at least 10 times, twice a day.

Your performance in tennis would be enhanced once you perform the stretching and strengthening exercises given above. The tennis elbow exercises would enhance your game play because you have developed strength and flexibility needed in the game.

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Some Tennis Elbow Symptoms To Watch Out For

Tennis elbow symptoms develop over a long period of time. The main symptom is pain, which may begin with a dull aching or soreness on the outer part of the elbow that goes away within 24 hours after an activity. The pain remains a little bit longer as time passes by. The condition deteriorates as the person observes that simple activities such as lifting or carrying objects can already cause pain. Pain starts to spread to the hand, other parts of the arm, shoulder, or neck. Typically,this happens in the dominant arm (your right arm if you are right-handed, left arm if you are left-handed). Tennis elbow is typically accompanied by pain and tenderness on the outside of your elbow. The pain continues to travel down the forearm.

The pain is often worse when you use your arm and elbow, particularly for twisting movements. Pain is worsened too by performing repetitive wrist movements, such as wrist extension and repeated gripping.
Tennis elbow can vary in severity, but you will usually have the symptoms listed below.

* Pain that comes and goes on the outside of your upper forearm, slightly below the bend of your elbow. There are instances where you would feel pain down your forearm towards your wrist.

* Pain is felt once the arms are lifted or bended

* Pain when writing or when holding small objects. Handling a small object such as pens can already be difficult.

* Twisting the forearm while opening a door handle can really cause pain.

*The forearm's range of motion is severely limited since it cannot be fully extended.


It is but common for tennis elbow symptoms to last between six months and two years. Still, a high percentage of people who experience tennis elbow symptoms can get well. Tennis elbow pain starts showing as a mild discomfort and progress to severe pain that can be felt even when your elbow is still or when you are asleep. It is not uncommon to experience stiffness in your arm over time as the damage to your tendon increases. As a consequence, the body would compensate for the weakness in your elbow, the stiffness can also be felt in other parts of the body such as shoulder and neck.

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Learn Why a Tennis Elbow Strap Is Valuable To Athletes

Lateral epicondylitis, also referred to as tennis elbow is a common injury experienced by tennis players. Given the choice, nobody wants to suffer from tennis elbow because it is painful and prevents a person from performing simple tasks such as lifting, carrying, or even simply opening doorknobs. It is also important to note that even people who do not play tennis can also suffer from tennis elbow. Some individuals who perform tasks such as hammering or gripping increase their chance of having tennis elbow.

One of the most typical approach to treatment involves the use of a tennis elbow strap. There has been studies made that suggests that tennis elbow strap could enhance the recovery process of injured tennis players. In a recent issue of Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy , a study was made with its main purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of tennis elbow strap using a control group with lateral epicondylitis. Two important factors were determined in the study -the amount of pain-free grip strength and maximum grip strength using different kinds of tennis elbow strap where a placebo strap was also included. A tennis elbow strap can be made up of Velcro because it can be easily fastened.

The tennis elbow strap is mainly used to apply pressure over the tendons that can reduce the painful condition associated with tennis elbow. The theory behind this is known as counter-force bracing somehow similar to a guitar's mechanics. Think of the counter-force tennis elbow strap as your fingers on the neck of the guitar ( forearm) and the extensor muscles, especially the extensor carpi radialis brevis, would be the guitar string, thus minimizing tension of the muscles as they attach to the lateral epicondyle. Truly, the study is well researched because it has practical applications.

The outcome of the study highlighted one important fact - that strapping is a good measure in reducing pain when force is exerted. When the subjects in the study used a tennis elbow strap, they could exert 16% more strength. Another significant fact pointed out in the study shows that between the strap against a sleeve with a built in strap, there was no difference at all asserting that the strap itself is likely the crucial factor. In short, using a tennis elbow strap can be an effective means to recover from tennis elbow. However, medical advice should be the first step in seeking treatment.

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Learn More About Tennis Elbow Surgery

A number of tennis players suffer from tennis elbow which is very inconvenient and painful. Tenderness at the joints and weakening of the muscles are often felt by the person who experiences tennis elbow conditions. Usually, doctors prescribe over the counter medicines such as NSAIDs that can address swelling and pain. Temporary solutions include applying ice on the affected area can minimize swelling and pain. Rest is also advisable to prevent further complications from tennis elbow. If all of these interventions fail, then the last resort would be tennis elbow surgery.

Why tennis elbow surgery is done
Tennis elbow surgery is the last option especially is all the symptoms like pain and soreness persist for more than 6 months and all other methods have failed. Because of the condition, the person is almost debilitated and hampered from performing normal tasks such as lifting and carrying objects. In many cases, doctors have administered corticosteroid injections but the person still feels pain. Tennis elbow surgery would then be the last option. There are different types of tennis elbow surgery, namely traditional open surgery or arthroscopic surgery where an instrument is inserted to repair the tendons. Commonly,an overnight stay at the health facility is adequate for recovery. Local or general anesthesia can be applied as per doctor's instruction. Arm movement should be minimized and patient needs to be very comfortable.

Cons of tennis elbow surgery
After tennis elbow surgery, you may feel a slight loss of ability to straighten the arm. Sometimes, elbow pain is still experienced by the person.Like any surgery, infection, blood loss or nerve damage is very possible. There are cases where anesthesia produces side effects. For certain, the muscle strength is decreased after tennis elbow surgery.

Recovery from tennis elbow surgery- If one wants to speed up healing from tennis elbow surgery, then the following suggestions are useful:

1. Quit smoking since this hampers the healing process of the wound
2. Undergo a physical rehabilitation program
3. Make some changes in activities or even temporarily stop from performing tasks that requires the use of the arm.

Indeed, tennis elbow surgery should be the last option when other methods have failed. It is a very invasive approach that comes with risks. Tennis elbow can be prevented by stretching and spacing break between practice days.

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How to Have Tennis Elbow Pain Relief The Easy Way

Injury is a result of repetitive stress imposed to any part of a person's body, usually caused by over exercise. For example, a tennis player hits the ball during practice for as much as two hours. In most cases, beginners have poor form when playing causing the wrist to prone incorrectly. Parts of the forearm such as tendons and muscles are the ones that easily get injured due to incorrect form during exercise. Tennis elbow or lateral epicondylitis is very painful and some parts of the arm feel tenderness. Tendon tears can also happen producing sharp pain that can make simple activities like carrying or lifting almost unbearable. However,there are non-tennis players who also seek tennis elbow pain relief due to the nature of their jobs such as hammering repeatedly or gripping tools. But whatever the cause of tennis elbow maybe, people who suffer from pain search for tennis elbow pain relief.

The first solution to tennis elbow pain relief would be to consult a medical professional. Doctors can prescribe over-the-counter medicines (OTCs) such as ibuprofen or aspirin to lessen the pain. At least,this helps the person to continue with his daily routine with less inconvenience. The pain can be very debilitating causing loss of productivity which is why solutions for tennis elbow pain relief is much sought. There are individuals who cannot cope with pain so OTCs can really help them.

The next step to tennis elbow pain relief is application of ice on the injured area for no more than 20 minutes. Remember to wrap the ice in a towel because applying ice directly on skin is damaging. The ice offers tennis elbow pain relief because it inhibits inflammation by constricting the blood vessels towards the injured area. However, it can only lessen the pain for a short period of time.

Another tennis elbow pain relief would involve using braces to restrict the movement of the arms. There are many types of tennis elbow braces in the Internet as well as medical supply stores. Having the correct size is essential when using a brace. The inelastic material must be tight enough to control muscle movement.
Finally, do some stretching and strengthening exercises before the game to avoid tennis elbow. Proper stretching warms up the muscles thereby making it less prone to injury.

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How to Deal With Tennis Elbow Pain?

Among the sports injuries, tennis elbow is one of the most painful conditions that athletes would want to avoid.

Tennis elbow pain is a result of repetitive stress on the tendons in the forearm. Tennis elbow pain is not only experienced by tennis players; in fact, people whose occupation require them to do constant gripping or hammering can also suffer from tennis elbow pain. Individuals who carry or lift too heavy objects in one hand or cause repeated actions that strains the ligaments on the outside of the elbow are also prone to tennis elbow.

Tennis elbow is definitely debilitating, the condition can last as much as six to 12 weeks making it difficult to hold even small objects such as a pen. The pain radiates down the arm to the wrist; thus, the arms can be very painful when bended or straightened due to the damage inflicted on the tendons.

There are many alternatives to treat tennis elbow which can prevent the condition from recurring. The very first step in relieving tennis elbow pain is to stop activities that cause it. Avoid any form of stretching or exercise that could complicate tennis elbow. Typically, doctors often advise tennis players to stop playing for at least three weeks until tennis elbow pain has been treated.

To hasten the healing process,you can also try using some capsaicin cream that can diminish the pain for some time. According to studies, capsaicin stops the pain receptors that send pain messages to the brain. In a way, people are relieved from pain and inflammation even for a short period so they can still do other things.

Applying ice on the affected area is also a good way of managing the swelling and pain so people feel much better. Use an ice bag, place ice in a zip bag (a bag of frozen vegetables would do) and apply to the affected area for no more than 15 minutes. It does takes time to fully recover from tennis elbow pain so patience is needed. Healing from an injury has no short-cut; in fact, people speed up their recovery by being positive and patient about the whole situation and allowing their body to heal naturally.

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Simple Cure for Tennis Elbow