Explanation of tennis elbow pain

Do you think you have elbow pain when you start exercising more?

This time of year, we start to see a lot of patients coming to us with various overuse injuries as they resume activities they haven’t done in a long time. Moreover, when the good weather arrives, they perk up, but our joints, muscles and tendons simply aren’t always ready for more exercise, and they become sore and stiff.

These injuries are usually from over-exercise, and the most common cause of elbow pain: tennis elbow. In this post we will talk about the explanation of tennis elbow pain.

What is tennis elbow?

Tennis elbow causes pain around the outside of the elbow, and in some cases, the pain can travel down the forearm as well.

What causes tennis elbow pain?

Typically, the cause of tennis elbow pain is overuse or repetitive motions in the forearm muscles that connect to the elbow.  Also, when performing any type of activity that involves repeatedly turning the wrist and bending the elbow or using the forearm muscles. It can be due to playing tennis, but also to any activity that places repeated stress and strain on the elbow joint.

Other reasons for tennis elbow pain can be:

– Sewing, typing or other activities involving repetitive hand and wrist movements.

– Using hand tools in do-it-yourself or gardening.

– Exercising that involves gripping or pulling toward the body.

Symptoms of tennis elbow

Tennis elbow pain can range from mild discomfort when moving the elbow to severe pain that can be experienced even when the elbow is immobile.

It is common for tennis elbow pain to be more intense, especially when using the arm and performing twisting motions such as you might do when gardening, playing tennis or DIY.

If you have tennis elbow, you may experience pain:

– When grasping small objects, such as a pen, steering wheel, or book.

– Turning the forearm, for example, turning a doorknob or using a screwdriver.

– On the outside of the elbow (may go down the forearm when lifting or bending the arm)

Pain can also occur when trying to fully straighten the arm, depending on the severity of the condition, so it can be quite varied and that is why expert advice is so important for the best results.

Treatment of tennis elbow

If you think you have tennis elbow, what can you do?

For some people, tennis elbow pain can get better on its own with rest, however, it can take a long time for some people.

Therefore, many people visit our clinic in Punta Prima for specialized treatments and exercise plan, because they want to get a faster recovery, and get back to doing the things they like to do…

Most people don’t want to wait months for their tennis elbow to heal on its own.

So, to speed up the recovery process, in the short term we need to minimize the activity that caused the pain to prevent it from getting worse.

This will allow time for the tendons and muscles to recover, along with physiotherapy. Where we can provide massage and manual treatment to relieve pain and stiffness, as well as encourage blood flow to the elbow.

The use of ice and heat packs can be a simple and effective way to get short-term pain relief, because we know that many of our patients don’t want to be on painkillers regularly if they can avoid it.

Long-Term Results of Tennis Elbow Pain

If tennis elbow pain is affecting your life, preventing you from exercising or playing with the grandkids, our team is here to help you and provide you with a tailored recovery plan. Also, if you what to know more about the explanation of tennis elbow pain, don’t hesitate to contact us.

If you have more questions, I encourage you to come to our Nordicfysio clinic in Punta Prima or contact us and we will see what the cause is and how we can solve it.