TENNIS ELBOW

by Royal College of General Practitioners

What is Tennis Elbow?

Tennis elbow (or lateral epicondylitis) is pain on the outer side of the elbow caused by inflammation in a forearm muscle tendon. Tennis players are not the only sufferers. It is common in golfers, carpenters, bricklayers, violinists and housewives, especially those between 35 and 55 years of age.

What Causes It?

Tennis elbow is the result of repeated bending and twisting movements of the forearm such as when playing golf or tennis, using a screwdriver, wringing wet clothes or carrying buckets. The strains, initially painless, cause small tears in the tendon. As they start to heal, more tears occur and painful inflammed scar tissue forms.

What are the Symptoms?

The outer bony projection of the elbow is painful. For some people the pain is constant and can interefere with sleep. The forearm aches with grasping and lifting movements such as pouring tea, turing stiff door handles, ironing clothes and typing. Even simple things like picking up a glass, shaking hands or brushing your teeth can cause pain.

Treatment

Tennis elbow is stubborn to treat but almost always curable. The treatment, which takes a minimum of eight weeks, is:

• rest (avoid the cause, stop playing tennis)
• physiotherapy and exercise (see below) to strengthen the forearm muscles
• a tennis elbow arm band (available from sports shops) may be helpful
• sometimes a steroid injection into the tendon may speed recovery

The Exercises

Use a dumbbell or similar type of weight such as a bucket of water. Start with half a kilogram (1lb) and build up gradually to five kilograms.

1. Sit in a chair beside a table
2. Rest your arm on the table so the wrist is over the edge
3. With your palm facing downwards, grasp the weight
4. Slowly raise and lower the wrist 12 times. Rest for one minute
5. Repeat twice - but stop if it causes pain

Do the exercise every day until you can play tennis, work or use your arm WITHOUT PAIN.

Golfer's Elbow

This is less common and usually less severe. The treatment is the same but the palm must face upwards for the exercise. Golfer's elbow (or medial epicondylitis) is pain on the inner side of the elbow caused by inflammation in a forearm muscle tendon.