How to get rid of tennis elbow?

Has there been nagging pain at your elbow joint for a while? Have you been wondering what is causing it? And you have not been able to figure out how to get rid of this nagging pain at the elbow joint. Well don’t worry, here are the proper solutions for your nagging elbow pain which might be due to a phenomenon called tennis elbow.

Tennis elbow usually occurs in tennis players as they have to extend their forearms every time they play a shot. Apart from this, normal activities such as squeezing clothes, carrying a suitcase and any other activity that involves extension of your forearm and wrist leads to development of tennis elbow over a period of time if the nagging pain at the elbow is not treated.

Tennis elbow is also known as lateral epicondylitis i.e, inflammation at the lateral epicondyle of humerus bone which also acts as origin point of wrist extensor muscles.

Symptoms- tennis elbow symptoms include pain and tenderness and at times swelling as well at the point of lateral epicondyle of humerus. There is sharp and shooting pain in the forearm if the wrist is extended.

Treatment- Usually acute tennis elbow goes away with rest and anti-inflammatory drugs or analgesics. If the rest and drug treatments don’t respond then injection of hydrocortisone at the point of maximum tenderness generally brings relief to the patient.

Physiotherapy management-

1. Splint- an elbow splint is suggested to the patient for relief of the tennis elbow. Usually the elbow is flexed and the wrist is extended while applying this splint and patient is required to put his arm in this position for at least two to three weeks until there is some substantial relief in pain.
2. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and ultrasonic therapy are given to the patient to provide pain relief.
3. Cryotherapy is also suggested to the patient as ice pack increases the blood flow at the site of the swelling and since blood contains natural healers and analgesics, it brings lot of relief to the patient.
4. Gentle effleurage and kneading is also done coupled with friction massage to bring some relief in the tennis elbow pain.
5. When the pain has subsided, gentle active movements of the elbow, wrist and hand are allowed keeping the whole focus on the wrist extensor muscles. Mild resistance exercises may also be started.