What is Tennis Elbow and how do I treat it?
This may be a question your asking yourself right now. Good News friends, there are some things you can do to treat this condition yourself,but first you need to go to a doctor. Preferably a doctor of chiropractic that specializes in treatment of sports injuries. If you are in Fort Worth, Texas then you should come to Park Hill Chiropractic. It is important that you see a doctor of chiropractic before you start self treating this injury so they can confirm that you indeed have Tennis Elbow or if you will require more testing to rule out other injury/disease. Typically there is going to be a gradual onset of intermittent pain at the elbow. Often the person will have pain or weakness with grasping or sustaining a muscular contraction.
So what is Tennis Elbow?
Tennis Elbow is actually referred to as lateral epicondylitis in the medical world. It is lateral (anatomical position is: standing up, arms to your side and palms forward) elbow pain caused by degeneration, tendonosis and periosositis at the muscle-bone junction of the forearm extensor tendon and the lateral epicondyle of the humerus.
Tennis elbow is the most common overuse injury of the elbow and accounts for about 90% of tendinopathies of the elbow.
How does Tennis Elbow happen?
Lateral Epicondylitis or Tennis Elbow happens when the forearm extensors are overused with actions like hammering, screwdriving, typing, scanning groceries and of course racket sports like tennis or badminton. The overuse leads to microtears in the tendon and muscles that attach to the lateral elbow. When you have the Microtears it subsequently leads to fibrosis, myofascial adhesions and sometimes necrosis.
How do I treat or manage Lateral Epicondylitis?
Tennis elbow or Lateral Epicondylitis can be slow to respond and is a process so don't get discouraged, conservative care can yield excellent results. The first thing you should do is rest the arm and wrist until pain significantly decreases. Resting, Icing, compression, increasing water intake and increasing Vitiman C will be what you need to be doing at home. At Park Hill Chiropractic we will be performing osseous manipulation and mobilization of the wrist, elbow and shoulder, soft tissue manipulation, active release treatment and electro therapy. After about 4 weeks (everyone is different) some specific exercise will be introduced. The exercise will target the following muscles: biceps, triceps, rotator cuff, wrist flexors, wrist extensors, elbow pronators and elbow supinators.
The prognosis for Lateral epicondylitis is excellent in less than 3 months with the appropriate treatment, recent research has shown more rapid recovery with cervical manipulation.
If you know someone suffering from Lateral Epicondylitis or Tennis Elbow let them know that Dr. Seth Elliott at Park Hill Chiropractic is the doctor to see and the place to be.
-Seth Elliott DC
Owner of Park Hill Chiropractic in Fort Worth, Texas.
(Reference: Conditions Manual 3rd Edition. Authors Carnes and Vizniak)