TENNIS ELBOW
What is tennis elbow?
Tennis elbow is a syndrome of pain involving the wrist extensor muscles at or near their bony origin on the outside of the elbow. Longstanding or chronic lateral elbow pain is degenerative in nature, not inflammatory. This means that it commonly does not respond to anti-inflammatory medication. People with tennis elbow usually have decreased grip strength in the affected arm. Subtle reductions in reaction time, speed of movement and co-ordination are often present in both arms of tennis elbow sufferers.
Who does tennis elbow effect?
Tennis elbow is common in workers who do repetitive hand tasks like assembly, construction and manufacturing. Tennis elbow, as the name implies, does occur in tennis players and is more common in those over 40 years old. Sufferers tend to be between 35 and 50 years of age. It usually occurs in the dominant arm and tends to affect males and females equally however it tends to be more longstanding and severe in females.
What causes tennis elbow?
Often there is no obvious incident that marks the onset of tennis elbow. When lateral elbow pain comes without an incident it is usually degenerative in nature. Lateral elbow pain can follow a traumatic incident which causes a tear to the wrist extensor muscles which originate from the bone on the outside of the elbow. Lateral elbow pain can come as a result of an unaccustomed increase in activity levels.
How can physiotherapy help tennis elbow?
Treatment will depend on the cause of the pain but will usually include a combination of manual therapy (with the hands) to reduce pain, strapping with sports tape to take tension off the tissues and exercises to condition the muscles of the forearm. The physiotherapist will assess any work or sporting activities that provoke the pain. Often inappropriate technique or equipment can hinder resolution of the problem. A good tip for avoiding provocation of the problem is to avoid lifting anything with the palm facing down. Lateral elbow can be treated effectively with physiotherapy.
References
Vicencino B (2003) Lateral epicondylalgia: a musculoskeletal physiotherapy perspective. Manual Therapy Pienimaki T, Tarvainen T, Siira P and Vanharanta (1996) Progressive strengthening and stretching exercises and ultrasound for lateral epicondylitis. Physiotherapy 82: 522-53
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