Everything you need to know about tennis elbow in plain English

Summertime: often a wondrous time of the year noted for cricket, golf, tennis, and long days in the sun. With this time of the year noted for Wimbledon, some of us want to be Roger Federer instead of paying over the odds for strawberries. So we take to the tennis courts. After a few sets, arrrgghhh…! The curse of tennis elbow strikes back.

Tennis elbow is the popular name for what is, strictly speaking, lateral epicondylitis. Through repetitive overuse, it affects the forearm muscles and tendons. The term came about when an 1883 medical paper by H.P. Major referred to an ailment called lawn tennis elbow. It has also been known as washerwoman’s elbow and writer’s cramp.

Symptoms

Pain occurs on the outer part of your elbow. This is also due to point tenderness over the lateral epicondyle, a prominent part of the bone outside of your elbow. If you are brewing up, lifting objects with the palm down, or doing anything where wrist movement is required, these activities can be painful.

Who can get it?

Any wannabe Roger Federer or Venus Williams irrespective of age. To prevent tennis elbow, or any worsening of symptoms:

• Have a rest from the tennis court;
• Stay in good shape: gym membership or the use of your local sports centre’s gymnasium could be a useful idea;
• Strengthen the muscles of your forearm, upper arm, and upper back.

What can we do to help?

We at Total Restore can get you back onto the court in no time. Whether you play on grass, clay or concrete, we give you some long term goals to keep you fitter for longer. For example: measures to improve your performance, reduce future injuries, and rehabilitation from injuries you are recovering from at present.

If you have any further queries, call us on 0161 833 3008 or 07497 146161. Why not pop into our clinic for a chat? If you’re coming in from the Northern Lawn Tennis Club, we are a short tram ride away from West Didsbury Metrolink station.

Total Restore, 25 July 2017.