Tennis elbow is
the condition in which the outer part of the elbow becomes sore and tender. The
origin of forearm muscles and tendons become damaged with the repetitive use of
the wrist and arms which cause an extreme pain. The pain initially starts in
the outside of the elbow.
Symptoms:
The symptoms of
Tennis Elbow includes pain in the outer elbow. Pain increases while gripping or
holding anything.
Symptoms also
includes
• Difficulty in shaking hands
• Difficulty in turning the door knob
• Difficulty in holding small objects like
cup.
Causes:
Tennis elbow is
cause by overuse of wrist and arms and muscles strain energy. The repeated
motion and stress results in tennis elbow.
As the name
suggests it is commonly seen in racquet sport players but they are not the only
one who go through this condition. It commonly occurs in IT professionals who
have constant & repetitive use of computer mouse & keyboard. And
housewives, who who repetitively twist clothes to dry and use circular wrist
movements for cooking.
Treatment:
Essentially the
main stay of treatment is rest and to avoid chronic repetitive stressful wrist
movements. Analgesics and anti-inflammatory medications will help muscles and
tendons to recover from the damage.
Tennis Elbow
Brace is a circular band worn 2 cm below the painful area, helps in off-loading
the point of origin of muscles. Must be used while playing racquet sports, use
of computers or while cooking/working.
Physiotherapy
using ultrasound massage and exercises gives excellent relief from pain and
belps in building strength.
Local
infiltrations of steroid is reserved for resistant or recurrent cases.
Local
infiltrations of PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) is gaining popularity over steroid
injections as PRP is natural & uses patient's own platelets.
Surgical
releases are seldom necessary and reserved for resistant cases wherein all the
above methods of treatment have failed.
How to Avoid
Tennis Elbow:
1. Correct
posture.
2. Correct grip or padding.
3. Correct
strength.
4. Exercises your wrist &
fingers.
5. Take frequent breaks.
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