Tennis Elbow is the reason you aren’t seeing Djokovic win tournaments any more. It is a painful and frustrating injury that has forced the former number one to pull out of Wimbledon. However, you don’t even have to be play tennis to suffer Tennis Elbow. Lifting weights and certain occupations also predispose you to getting Tennis Elbow. So, what is it and why does it happen?
Tennis Elbow is is an irritation of the tendons at the lateral epicondyle of the elbow, which is the bony prominence on the outside of your elbow. This occurs most commonly due to overuse of the extensor muscles of the wrist. This can can occur with weight lifting, playing sport, driving and manual work. If you have tennis elbow you will most likely notice pain on the outside of the elbow and decreased grip strength.
To get results with treatment, sufferers are told to stop the activity that has caused the injury in the first place. Treatment generally involves massage of the wrist extensor muscles, mobilisations of the elbow, dry needling (acupuncture) of the elbow and forearm, rehabilitation exercises and adjustments of the spine. Most people will improve with therapy. Surgery is considered the last resort for the minority of sufferers who do not improve with standard treatment.
So that is what you need to know about tennis elbow. Please contact me through the website contact form if you have any questions 🙂
Scott Leabeater is The Backstory Chiropractic’s Principal Chiropractor. Scott uses up to date research literature to guide an evidence based approach to diagnosis and treatment. His unique professionalism and knowledge has made Scott highly sought after. Throughout his career he has treated everyone from local office workers to Olympic athletes. Scott is an AHPRA registered Chiropractor and member of Chiropractic Australia.