Tennis elbow
What is tennis elbow?
Tennis elbow is pain in the outer side of the elbow. It occurs during repetitive movements of the forearm and wrist.
Causes:
It usually affects tennis/racquet players due to repetitive movements of the wrist and elbow.It also affects carpenters, plumbers, and painters.Tennis elbow also affects chefs/people who cook a lot.
Symptoms:
Clinical examination is needed to confirm the diagnosis however if you have these symptoms then you may have tennis elbow:1. Pain on the lateral side (outer side) of the elbow during gripping activities, especially while gripping the object firmly and moving the arms and elbow. That’s why it affects racquet players.Another example of gripping activities is seen in painters and plumbers. They firmly hold the equipment while twisting their forearms and moving their elbows.2. weakness in the forearm and wrist muscles.Pain and weakness will affect the hand’s gripping activities and wrist's movement.
Treatment:
Disclaimer: I do NOT use the following treatment options with ALL my patients. I choose the treatment plan depending on the patient’s case. Some of these treatment options may not be suitable for you and may cause adverse effects. Medical consultation is needed before doing any of the following exercises.
Rest:
Usually with patients with severe pain, I let them wear a brace / splint and rest their affected side for a while.
Shockwave & Laser therapy
I use them for pain management with tennis elbow patients. I will choose one of them with the patients depending on their pain level and symptoms.
Wrist stretching exercises:
It is often used with tennis elbow patients. Like the other treatment options, sometimes stretching exercises may not be suitable for you and may increase your pain. Therefore, medical consultation is needed before doing stretching exercises.Wrist stretching exercises videos are available in the previous posts.
Kinesio Tape (K-tape):
- It is a medical tape that is applied to the skin. Usually, it doesn't cause any discomfort. It helps in reducing pain and improving muscle strength depending on the way it is applied to the skin.- First, I will assess the patient and decide what does he/she needs (reduce pain/improve muscle strength/ both). After that, I will choose the application method.- What I like about K-tape is that you can apply it by yourself. I usually try it with my patients and when they have positive feedback, I teach them how to apply by themselves.- K-tape usually lasts 3-4 days, however because of our frequent ablution (wudu) and shower, it may last one day.It is not suitable for skin allergy patients.
Strengthening exercises:
Wrist and forearm muscles strengthening is important because tennis elbow leads to weakness in wrist muscles and hand grip strength. Strengthening exercises will help the patients in doing their daily activities.
