Tennis Elbow —What Is It and How to Fix It
Over two million people in Canada suffer from repetitive strain injuries every year. This can limit their daily activities and cause serious pain. One of the most common RSI is tennis elbow. Tennis elbow or Lateral epicondylitis is a painful joint disorder that occurs just above the elbow joint near the upper arm bone.
The injury usually affects avid tennis players. However it can affect almost anyone due to overuse or repeated stress to the elbow joint. The strain from repetitive use of the elbow joint causes the tendons around the joint to become damaged and inflamed. Resulting in a limited range of motion and shooting pains up and down the arm and wrist.
Symptoms
The symptoms of tennis elbow can range from a slight discomfort in the elbow joint to limited flexibility, excruciating pain and weakness of the grip when lifting or writing something. People suffering from tennis elbow also experience pain when trying to extend their forearms and can have trouble doing the simplest tasks such as turning a doorknob or lifting a cup of coffee.
Diagnosing and Treating
Tennis elbow can easily be diagnosed at home. Test by simply standing behind a chair and grabbing it with the palms facing downwards and arms fully extended. If you are unable to keep your elbow straight or experience pain on the outside of the elbow when trying to lift the chair, you might have tennis elbow.
A sports injury specialist or a physiotherapist can also diagnose a tennis elbow by doing a simple assessment that takes a few minutes and looking through your medical history. They might also suggest an MRI or an X-Ray to rule out other options such as a fracture or arthritis.
Once diagnosed, tennis elbow is usually treated with various self-care measures, plenty of rest, and some over-the-counter pain medication in case the pain is severe. It is also important to get proper physical therapy to restore full range of motion in the elbow and arms and speed up the recovery process.
Have you been experiencing a limited range of motion and pain in your elbow?
As the leading physiotherapy clinic in Winnipeg, Motion Science Physiotherapy Clinic can help your body heal and recover with innovative therapies and diverse medical treatments for effective results. Our services include athletic therapy, Shockwave Therapy, and Intramuscular Stimulation for the residents of Manitoba.
Get in touch with our team today for more details.