What Are Tennis Elbow Injuries?
It’s not a must that you have to be a tennis player to develop a tennis elbow. This injury happens when you involve yourself in activities that continuously use your forearm muscle. Seek help from the best Weslaco, TX pain medicine physicians who specialize in pain management using therapies to cure the source of pain.
What are tennis elbow injuries?
Tennis elbow is a health problem that occurs when elbow tendons are overloaded, usually by a frequent movement of the arm and the wrist. Patients having jobs that reflect motions might have tennis elbow. They include painters, plumbers, and carpenters.
Tennis elbow pain occurs where the arm muscles tendons attach to a bump with bones outside the elbow. Over the counter pain relievers and rest can help relieve tennis elbow.
Treatment
Tennis elbow cures by itself. When over-the-counter medications and self-care treatment are not helping, the doctor can advise physical therapy, but serious elbow injuries might require surgery.
Therapy
If the symptoms are related to tennis, your doctor can direct you to professionals to determine the tennis method or the movements involved with your job to determine the most appropriate steps to eliminate stress on the injured tissue.
A physical therapist teaches exercises that strengthen and also stretches your muscles, mainly in the forearm muscles. Exercises that involve moving the wrist slowly after lifting it are helpful. A forearm brace or strap reduces stress on the injured part.
Surgical or other procedures
Injections. The doctors might suggest the use of platelet-rich plasma or Botox for the painful part. Dry needling, where a needle is injected through the damaged tendon in various areas, may also be painful.
Ultrasonic tenotomy (TENEX procedure). Under ultrasound assistance, a doctor puts a special needle on the injured part through the skin. The needle is vibrated through ultrasonic energy so that the injured tissues can be sucked out.
Surgery. If the symptoms don’t appear to improve after 6-12 months of non-operative treatment, you can be advised to see a surgeon to remove damaged tissue. The types of techniques can be carried out through a large or small incision.
Causes
Research has shown that tennis elbow is caused by damage in a specific forearm muscle. The extensor carpi radialis brevis (ECRB) muscle stabilizes the wrist when the elbow is straight. This happens during a tennis groundstroke.
Microscopic tears form in tendons when ECRB is weakened by overuse. This can lead to pain and inflammation.
Activities. Tennis elbow is not only suffered by athletics. Most people with tennis elbow are involved in recreational or work activities that require vigorous and continuous use of the hand or wrist’s forearm repetitive extension or muscle.
Age. Most people get tennis elbow at the ages of 35 and 50, but anyone can get it if they are at risk of getting it. In sports like tennis, improper equipment, and improper stroke technique can be risk factors.
If you have experienced tennis elbow in the past and are recovering from it, try exercising physical therapy to strengthen the forearm’s muscles and improve its function, avoiding continuous motions, which can go a long way in eliminating issues shortly.
