Dealing with Tennis Elbow? Here's How to Keep This Joint Healthy

Walking, running, jumping, lifting objects, typing… We tend to perform many basic tasks over and over again, and as a result, we develop problems in our soft tissue and joints over time. These are known as overuse injuries and are very common overall, but they’re a risk that people who play sports deal with all the time due to specific repetitive motions.

They often happen in your knees, elbows, shoulders, feet, and back. Tennis elbow is a problem people have whether they’re athletes or not. There are many ways to keep this joint healthy, so to find out more let’s look at what tennis elbow is, what often leads to it, and how it can be prevented and treated.

Residents of the Fort Worth, Texas, area looking to keep their joints injury-free can find help with Dr. Joseph Daniels and the experienced staff at Southwest Orthopedic Associates.

Facts about tennis elbow

Also known as lateral epicondylitis, tennis elbow is a repetitive strain injury that is so named because it's very common in racquet sports. The pain and inflammation associated with it comes from damage to your extensor muscle tendon, which connects the forearm muscles to your elbow. 

In addition to pain and swelling from inflammation, tennis elbow also causes joint stiffness and a weakness in your grip when doing things like grasping objects or shaking people’s hands.

Risk factors

The pain that comes with tennis elbow is due to repeated and vigorous use of the forearm muscles and repetitive extension of the wrist and hand. This results in breaking down the fibers in the tendon. It’s often felt at the bony bump on your elbow where it attaches. 

Tennis elbow affects painters, carpenters, plumbers, auto workers, cooks, and just about every profession where these parts of the body are at risk for overuse. It is a common problem for adults aged 30-50, whether they’re highly active or not, but can happen without any discernible cause (idiopathic).

Prevention and treatment

Here are some options to avoid problems with or treat tennis elbow:

Exercises

Specific exercises can help keep the tendon in healthy shape, such as wrist turns (with and without weights), wrist lifts, elbow bends, wrist extensor stretches and flexes, fist squeezes, and towel twists.

Home remedies

This problem can often be managed at home, doing things like taking over-the-counter pain relievers, using ice or heat packs, and resting the arm.

Medical options

Physical therapy is a common nonsurgical solution for managing tennis elbow, along with compression bandages, braces, corticosteroids, and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatments. In rare cases where the damage is severe, outpatient surgeries can be done.

Tennis elbow can affect you whether you play the sport or not, but there are plenty of ways to get help, and we can be part of your solution. Make an appointment today with Dr. Daniels and his team at Southwest Orthopedic Associates today to see what we can do for you.