TENNIS ELBOW / ARM PAIN

A patient of ours came in last week suffering from elbow pain.  It prompted me to write an article about a common ailment here in S. Florida - Tennis Elbow.

Classic tennis elbow, or lateral epicondylitis, is a repetitive strain injury (RSI).  It is a tendonitis affecting the common extensor tendon at the lateral (outside) area of the elbow.  The common extensor tendon connects muscles which bend your hand and fingers backward with your arm bone, the humerus.  Tennis elbow is a very common cause of elbow and forearm pain.  It can cause mild to severe pain in the lateral aspect of the elbow region and may be aggravated by grasping and wrist and finger motions.  The pain may also radiate up the arm or down into the forearm.

Tennis elbow is an overuse injury that occurs most frequently in the dominant arm during middle life. It is very common among tennis players, especially those with a faulty backhand swing or players that use a lot of ‘spin’ shots.  Forty-five percent of tennis players who play or practice daily will experience tennis elbow. However, tennis elbow also afflicts carpenters, mechanics, office workers, cashiers, maids, and anyone else who performs repeated hammering, grasping, and rotary forearm motions.

Tennis elbow is diagnosed by clinical findings alone.  There is local tenderness on pressing the area and pain on contracting the involved muscles against resistance.  The elbow range of motion is essentially normal and there may or may not be swelling.  Unless severe degeneration has occurred, the elbow appears normal on an x-ray.

This condition can be slow to respond to treatment, especially if the aggravating motions are continued and the condition has been present for some time (chronic).  Initial treatment includes resting the elbow, ice, physiotherapy (ultrasound, electric stimulation), soft tissue mobilization (deep friction massage), sometimes requiring anti-inflammatory medication or supplements, and orthopedic supports such tennis arm bands.  Follow-up treatment may include eliminating or modifying the offending activity and similar activities, manipulating the elbow joint, physiotherapy, massage, and changing equipment or tools if required.  Most importantly, stretches and exercises for the involved muscles and other elbow muscles are performed to regain the flexibility, strength, and endurance to rehabilitate the injury and prevent reoccurrence.

Elbow pain also can be caused by a variety of other reasons.  Muscle strains, joint sprains, joint degeneration and inflammation, nerve involvement at the spine or anywhere along the course of the nerve are all possible culprits.  More directly, muscle weakness due to nerve involvement can predispose a person to an injury such as tennis elbow; therefore, the neck area should be examined and if necessary treated while the elbow area is being treated.

We hope you found this information helpful and informative.  If you are suffering from aches and pains, we invite you to call our office at

(561) 731-4457.