Tennis Elbow

Tennis elbow is a condition that causes pain on the outside of the elbow. There are tendons that attach to the outside of the elbow, and if these tendons get inflamed or worn out, they can cause pain.

What causes tennis elbow?

The condition got its name from tennis players who were holding their racquets the wrong way and would put too much stress on their tendons while playing. Overuse of the tendons is the most common cause of tennis elbow, but many patients get tennis elbow from normal use. If the tendon wears out, either from age or overuse, the tendon can cause pain.

What are the symptoms of tennis elbow?

Tennis elbow causes pain over the outside of the elbow during and activity that involves gripping and holding heavy objects with the hand. Usually, you'll feel pain when lifting everyday objects like a milk carton from the refrigerator or when opening jars and performing repetitive tasks with your hands.

When tennis elbow becomes more severe, the pain can be a constant ache that can keep you awake at night.

How do you diagnose tennis elbow?

Your doctor can diagnose tennis elbow after listening to your symptoms and performing a careful exam of the elbow, wrist and hand.

X-rays can be done to make sure there are no other causes of the pain in the elbow.

How do you treat tennis elbow?

Tennis elbow is best treated with physical therapy that includes stretching exercises, muscle manipulation and strengthening.

A cortisone injection can also help relieve the pain so that you can do more in physical therapy. A forearm strap can also be worn to take stress off the tendons during activity.

This type of treatment can take 3-6 months before the pain goes away.

In some patients, the pain does not improve after therapy and injections. If this is the case, you may need to get rid of the pain in the tendon. Your surgeon will need to determine whether your tennis elbow will improve with surgery, and an MRI may be needed to evaluate the tendons of the elbow before the surgeon can decide if surgery will help.

How is surgery performed for tennis elbow?

Your surgery will be performed arthroscopically. This means your surgeon will make two small incisions on each side of the elbow and place a camera into the elbow joint through one of the incisions.

From the other incision, he will use small tools to remove the degenerated portion of the tendon that is causing the pain.

You can go home the same day of the surgery and be able to use the arm as soon as the nerve block, a type of pain relief that lessens and postoperative pain, wears off.

During your recovery, you will do stretching exercises to regain all of your motion.

Six weeks after surgery, physical therapy can be started to strengthen the elbow, wrist and hand. Most patients report good pain relief in 3 months, but it takes a minimum of 6 months of rehabilitation to get complete pain relief.

There are risks from surgery, and these should be considered carefully before deciding to have surgery. Your surgeon will go over all of the risks prior to your procedure.