Tennis elbow or lateral epicondylitis is a painful condition caused by muscle strain injury and stressed tendons. Anyone who is involved with repetitive gripping activities of hands can get a tennis elbow, including - tennis players, golfers, baseball players, bowlers, weight lifters, gardeners or landscapers, house or office cleaners (because of vacuuming, sweeping and scrubbing), carpenters, painters, mechanics and assembly-line workers. Tennis elbow can also affect people with hobbies that require repetitive arm movements like typing, raking and knitting.
The Symptoms
Tennis elbow is the swelling of the tendons that cause pain in the arm and elbow. The tendons are tissues that connect your forearm muscles to the bone knob on the outside of your elbow. However, pain and tenderness can also spread into your forearm or lower arm depending on the severity.
Tennis elbow may cause the most pain when you:
- Grip an object, such as a tennis racket or make a fist
- Lift something
- Open jars, or while holding objects
- Open a door or shake hands
- Raise your hand or straighten your wrist
Tennis elbow affects men more than women and your doctor needs to do a thorough examination to diagnose the problem. He or she will ask you to do a few physical movements involving your arm, wrist and elbow to see where it hurts. You also require an X-ray or MRI to rule out other health problems and diagnose tennis elbow properly.
The Treatment
The good news is that a tennis elbow usually heals on its own. You just need to give your elbow some rest and do the following in order to speed up the healing.
- Apply an ice pack on your elbow to reduce swelling and pain. Do it for 20 to 30 minutes after every 3 to 4 hours.
- Use an elbow strap that will help in preventing further strain to the injured tendon.
You can take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAIDs), such as aspirin or ibuprofen to reduce pain and swelling. However, only use them if your doctor has asked you to.
Get physical therapy to stretch and strengthen the muscles, especially those of your forearm. Perform motion exercises to increase flexibility and reduce stiffness.
Most of the time, these treatments will do the trick. But if you have a severe case of tennis elbow that doesn't respond to more than four months of conservative treatment, you may need the class IV K-Laser therapy. This therapy not only provides a safe, effective and non-invasive solution for your elbow pain and injury, but will also give you significant pain relief after just a few sittings.
What’s more, this treatment program by Dr. Berry uses the latest FDA Cleared Lasers along with other therapies to reduce the pain, increase the range of motion and strengthen the muscles. Come be a part of our class IV K-Laser treatment program and we will help you return to all the normal activities that you enjoy without any pain.
