Tennis Elbow

About your injury

Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) is an inflammation of the outer forearm and elbow where the tendons attach to the bone.

How did it happen?

These injuries are usually caused by repetitive movements and prolonged gripping in activities such as racquet sports, hammering, weight lifting, driving screws, playing musical instruments and digging. In racquet sports, it most commonly occurs due to poor backhand technique.

What are the symptoms?

Typical symptoms include aching, throbbing or tenderness on the outer elbow that can be made worse by seemingly trivial movements such as typing, carrying bags, chopping food and even turning door knobs.

What should I do?

• Try a lighter racquet
• Increase the grip size to avoid tight grip
• Reduce string tension
• Reduce your activity levels by 50%
• Wear a compressive elbow strap
• Get some tennis lessons to improve your backhand
• Ice the outer elbow using a bag of frozen peas or ice pack wrapped in a tea towel. Do this for 10 minutes every hour
• Take some anti-inflammatory medication such as Nurofen
• Consult an Osteopath for some physical therapy and advice on stretching and strengthening exercises

Contact Us

email jamie@theosteopath.net if you would like to make an appointment.