What is it?
Tennis elbow is a condition affecting the tendons on the outside of the elbow. Despite its name, you do not have to play tennis to develop it.
It commonly occurs when the tendon has been repeatedly overloaded, either over a period of time or following a sudden increase or change in activity. The tendon can become irritated and painful, particularly when it is put under load. Unfortunately, tennis elbow can sometimes take quite a long time to settle.
Pain on the outside of your elbow when gripping or lifting?
Pain is usually felt around the outside of the elbow and may sometimes extend into the upper part of the forearm.
Symptoms are often particularly noticeable during activities involving gripping or twisting the forearm, such as:
- opening a door or turning a handle
- pouring a full kettle
- carrying shopping
- gripping tools or sports equipment
- lifting with the palm facing down
Some people also notice that their grip feels weaker because of the pain.
Is your pain on the inside of the elbow instead? Pain affecting the inside rather than the outside of the elbow may be golfer’s elbow. Find out more about Golfer’s Elbow Treatment.
What causes tennis elbow?
Tennis elbow is generally associated with overuse or a change in the amount or type of activity being performed.
Sometimes there is an obvious trigger, such as starting a new sport, increasing gym training, gardening, DIY or repetitive work. In other cases, the symptoms develop gradually without one particular incident.
It is therefore useful to look not only at the painful elbow itself, but also at the activities and loads that may have contributed to the problem.
How do we assess tennis elbow?
At Corsham Physiotherapy, we will discuss how your symptoms started, the activities that aggravate them and how they are affecting your day-to-day life.
The elbow and surrounding area will then be examined using a number of clinical tests to assess the affected tendon and reproduce your symptoms where appropriate.
We will also consider whether there are any other possible causes of your elbow pain and look at factors such as your work, sport, hobbies and ergonomics.
How do we treat tennis elbow?
Treatment will depend on how long you have had the problem, how irritable the tendon is and the activities that are being affected.
In the early stages, treatment will usually focus on reducing pain and settling the irritated tendon. Depending on your individual presentation, this may include techniques such as graded friction massage, acupuncture or LASER therapy, alongside advice about temporarily modifying activities that are repeatedly aggravating the elbow.
We will also look at factors that may be contributing to the problem, including your work, sport, hobbies and ergonomics. This doesn’t necessarily mean stopping the activities you enjoy, but may involve changing how much or how often you do them while the tendon settles.
As symptoms improve, treatment progresses towards restoring the tendon’s strength and ability to tolerate load. This will usually involve a graded stretching and strengthening programme, including eccentric exercises where appropriate.
For more persistent tennis elbow, shockwave therapy may also be considered as part of the treatment programme.
The overall aim is to first get your symptoms under control and then address the factors contributing to the problem, gradually building the elbow’s capacity so that you can return to normal work, sport and everyday activities.
How long does tennis elbow take to recover?
Tennis elbow can unfortunately be a persistent condition, and in some people symptoms may continue for many months.
Rather than simply waiting for it to settle, treatment aims to reduce pain, maintain movement and progressively improve the strength and load tolerance of the tendon.
Recovery time varies considerably depending on factors such as how long the symptoms have been present, the demands being placed on the arm and how irritable the tendon is.
Helping patients across Wiltshire
Our clinic is based in Corsham, Wiltshire and we regularly help patients with Tennis Elbow across North Wiltshire including Chippenham, Melksham, Bradford on Avon, Lacock, Box, Bath and surrounding villages.
Book a Tennis Elbow Assessment today
If elbow pain is making gripping, lifting, work, sport or everyday activities difficult, a physiotherapy assessment can help establish whether tennis elbow is the likely cause and what treatment and rehabilitation would be most appropriate.
Get in touch with our reception team to book an appointment today.