Tennis Elbow

Now that it’s finally getting warm out, that means that more of my office visits become sport related!  In this post I am going to discuss tennis elbow, also known as lateral epicondylitis.

Tennis elbow does occur often in people that play a lot of tennis, or people that suddenly start playing after a long break.  However, it can also occur in people that do other types of activities like repetitive chopping or twisting of the arm. Regardless of the specific activity that caused it, the best way to think about tennis elbow is as an “overuse injury”.

The pain is usually localized to the outside part of the elbow, but sometimes it can go down into the forearm as well.  Often times it is painful to push on the area with a finger, and you may notice that doing activities that require twisting the arm, like opening a door knob, can be painful.  

If you see a doctor for tennis elbow, usually the interview and physical examination is enough to make the diagnosis.  But, sometimes if the doctor is worried that there might be more going on in the joint, an x-ray might be ordered to better view the bones.  

Treatment options for tennis elbow include anti-inflammatory medications, both as pills and as topical ointments (remember my old post about topicals?).  I also sometimes will give patients a numbing ointment, called lidocaine, to help with pain relief. Ice can be useful, as can taking a break from the activity that caused the pain in the first place.  

Bracing can also be useful in alleviating pain.  The brace usually goes below the elbow, and is called a ‘counter-force brace”.  I am a proponent of physical therapy for this issue as well, and if it has been going on for longer than a month, I strongly encourage my patients to consider a rehabilitation plan.  

Steroid injections to the area aren’t always ideal because of the risk of the steroid weakening the tendons further.  A newer injectable therapy called platelet rich plasma, or PRP, is sometimes performed as a way to try to stimulate healing in the area.  I’ll write separately about PRP in the future.

If you are wondering if you might have tennis elbow, the best way to find out for sure is to make an appointment with a pain management physician! And don’t forget to subscribe to my blog here so you never miss a new post.