Tennis Elbow

Contrary to popular belief, you do not only get tennis elbow playing tennis. It is common amongst people who play racquet sports but it is also a common ailment among painters, carpenters and plumbers.

Tennis Elbow, or lateral epicondylitis is the most common injury for people experiencing elbow pain and is caused by small tears in the tendons that attach the muscles of your forearm to the bone at the elbow joint. These tendons are the attachments of the muscles that you use to move your wrist back and can be caused by degeneration through repetitive use, overexertion or a blow to the elbow.

 The symptoms of tennis elbow are: pain or burning on the outside of the elbow and a weakened grip and the symptoms usually, but not always, appear in the dominant arm.

Incidentally, if the pain is on the inside of the elbow it is a different injury referred to as “Golf elbow”

Over 80% of patients recover from tennis elbow without the need for surgery and are prescribed either aspirin or ibuprofen and told to rest the arm for several weeks until the tendon heals itself. Occasionally surgery is necessary but only in extreme cases. You may also need physiotherapy but there are a number of simple stretching exercises you can perform at home to speed up the recovery process.

Research has shown that the main causes of tennis elbow in tennis players are:

- A change in string tension.

- A change in posture.

- A change in racquet or grip.

- Improper technique.

- Irregular play/practice

- A marked increase in the level of play.

Increased strength increases the stability in your joints and if you have strong forearms, upper arms, shoulders and a strong upper body your chances of falling victim to tennis elbow reduce greatly. This won’t guarantee that you will never have it but if you follow the guidelines above and listen to your coach the chances of it catching you out are greatly reduced.