Lateral epicondylitis is also called as tennis elbow. This is a highly painful condition. It involves the tendons attached to the bone that is on the outside part of a person’s elbow. It is these tendons which anchor muscle to the bone. In this condition, it is the extensor carpi radialis brevis which is the muscle that helps in extending and stabilizing the wrist. Due to lateral epicondylitis, this tendon’s attachment gets degenerated which weakens the anchor sites. This leads to higher stress on this area leading to pain while doing activities which are associated with this area. These would include activities like lifting, gripping, grasping and so on.
Causes
Overuse is a cause behind this condition. This can be due to your work or some other reason. When any activity done by you puts stress on the tendon attachments, there can be this condition. These stresses can be due to gripping and grasping activities like weaving, meat-cutting, plumbing, racquet holding, painting, and so on.
Trauma can give a direct blow to your elbow as it can lead to swelling of the tendon leading to degeneration. This refers to any kind of sudden action, force, or any other such activity leading to an injury to the tendon.
Lateral epicondylitis affects people in the age group between 30 and 50 years. But it can occur in younger as well as older age groups too. It is common in both men and women.
Patients will seek medical evaluation only when they experience some form of pain. They may experience this pain over the bone region of the elbow, which is also known as the lateral epicondyle. Pain can also be due to any activity that puts stress on the tendon. These can include activities like gripping or lifting. The pain will start at the elbow and travel down the forearm and reach the hand. This would make any motion of the elbow painful.
Cure
You need to modify your activities. Initially, you need to limit the activity that is causing this condition. You need to limit the aggravating activity but not stop it completely. You need to modify your grips or technique. This can mean using racquet of a different size racket or using 2-handed backhands in tennis in order to relieve the problem.
Some amount of anti-inflammatory medications can also help to alleviate the pain. A tennis elbow brace can be worn just below the elbow in order to reduce this tension on the tendon. This will allow it to heal.
Physical Therapy can also be helpful. This refers to performing stretching and strengthening exercises. Other modalities can include ultrasound or heat treatments. Steroid injections can also be injected into the area. Just keep a close watch on the dosage.
Shockwave treatment refers to a new type of treatment in which a shock wave is delivered to the affected area. This is the last resort. It is to be opted for prior to the consideration of surgery.
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