It is common to associate Tennis Elbow to an injury in tennis or racquet. Typically, however, tennis players or racquet sport players are rarely patients with this injury. Instead, many of our patients at Custom Chiropractor with this condition are office employees in the Santa Clara-San Jose region who spend numerous hours at their jobs in front of a computer screen.
What is it?
Tennis elbow, known as lateral epicondylitis, is a disorder characterized by lateral elbow pain caused by wrist or finger extension. It is the most prevalent cause of elbow pain and is categorized as the forearm muscle’s overuse injury. Pain occurs when the forearm muscle tendon is inserted into the elbow’s lateral bony prominence, the lateral epicondyle. Due to tendon breakdown and muscle weakening, micro-tears are believed to happen at the tendon-bone intersection. In essence, the injury can be both mechanical and inflammatory.
What causes Tennis Elbow Injuries?
Any exercise that affects the tendon related to the carpal radialis brevis extensor, can trigger disturbance. Overusing and the ongoing pressure is the most frequent source of Tennis Elbow. This can be caused by an intense or progressive trigger. When an individual performs many wrist extensions for a short time, such as swinging a hammer on a roof throughout the day (or similar actions), the tendon may be over-used acutely and cause an injury on the elbow.
Also, you can progressively harm the tendon by causing extended discomfort during working days. This is prevalent with mechanical movements involving any wrist motion. Neck problems can manifest through mimicking Tennis Elbow injuries as well. The lower neck nerves go down the arm to control muscles and their movements. Sometimes the pain radiates to the inner elbow when a nerve is tense in the cervical spine.
This is why it is important to have a specialist such as a chiropractor perform a thorough evaluation to determine whether you genuinely have a tennis elbow or whether the pain is a shoulder referral or a mixture of both circumstances.
What can you do at home?
Stretching and strengthening would be the right approach. It includes straightening the neck, holding the palm down, and pulling the wrist down the other side. Do not strain into pain and keep the span for 30 seconds only.
Reinforcing the elbow is a priority, but the entire arm and shoulder should be strengthened. Always note to stop the physical activity if it is unpleasant and seek further guidance from a specialist.
How can one of our practitioners help with treating Tennis Elbow?
Treating Tennis Elbow injuries depends on a couple of variables, such as the cause, the time it takes to develop, the amount of pain you have and the therapy goals you aim for.
Typically, soft tissue release, such as ART ®, will require chiropractic treatment to free the tissues and reduce tendon strain, stretch, enhance fitness and potentially acupuncture. It is advisable to be consistent with your treatment plan and/or training program for the greatest outcomes.
Massage Therapy is another method of treating the smooth tissues in both the forearm and potentially upper arm, throat, and back, together with physiotherapy and chiropractic treatment.
Conclusion
Tennis Elbow is a painful elbow injury triggered by overuse of the forearm muscles by repetitive actions. Physiotherapy, chiropractic treatment, or massage therapy may all be efficient in Tennis Elbow treatment.
If you are worried that you might have Tennis Elbow, visit a trained healthcare provider to get a proper diagnosis and then establish a treatment plan. Without effective therapy plans like those provided by chiropractors and other therapists, tendon wounds can be difficult to handle. You can also wind up lasting cell damage in areas of the tendon if you leave it unattended for a long time. A plain tennis elbow should take 6-8 weeks to fully heal, but it can require months to address a mixture of variables. If this injury causes you to suffer, contact us to schedule an assessment with one of our authorized chiropractors or licensed massage therapists. Most cases of Tennis Elbow heal with chiropractic and massage therapy with only 10-15% needing surgery at the elbow.
Schedule an appointment with one of our practitioners today!
