Tennis Elbow otherwise called as lateral epicondylitis is a common injury found among the sports persons but is nowadays detected in common persons too! Though the main reason for the cause of tennis elbow is not known it is commonly thought that it is due to the minute tear of tendons which connect the fore arm muscle to the arm bone at the elbow joint. Specific inflammation is rarely present in the tendon but there is an increase in pain receptors in the area making the region extremely tender.

Symptoms of Tennis Elbow:

• Pain about 1-2 cm down from bony area at the outside of the elbow
• Pain when lifting objects
• Pain radiating down the forearm
• Weakness in the wrist with difficulty doing simple tasks like shaking hands.
• Difficulty extending the forearm fully.

Who may be affected by Tennis Elbow?

• People who work with their hands are at greater risk of developing tennis elbow. Jobs that may lead to tennis elbow include plumbers, painters, gardeners, and carpenters.
• Sports participants, especially racquet sport players, are prone to developing tennis elbow. About a third of regular tennis players experience tennis elbow at some point in their careers. In addition to racquet sports, tennis elbow is seen in golfers, fencers, and other sports participants.
• As per the data, any one between the age group of 35 -65 may be affected by Tennis Elbow. It generally occurs in the dominant arm in about 75 percent of patients

Relief of Tennis Elbow:

The best way to get relief from the tennis elbow is to stop doing any thing that irritates the arm. Given here are some treatments to Tennis Elbow:

• Reduce the inflation by applying ice pack to the affected area.
• A simple exercise of arm stretching will help to lengthen the fore arm muscle fibers and reduce the tension on the tendon.—With palm facing down try to raise the arm till it is straight to your shoulders. Hold it for a minute. Slowly bring it by the side of the body, palms facing down. Then repeat the same with palm facing up. Care should be taken so as you do not extra stretch your muscle.
• Straps can be placed 1-2 inches below the elbow to give support to the tendon and reduce the stress.
• In the case of severe damage cortisone injections could be needed and in extreme cases surgery may be the only recourse (less than 3% of patients require surgery). If the damage is this serious professional advice should be sought.

Home and herb remedies for Tennis Elbow:

• Apply ice packs over the elbow for 15-20 minutes.
• Alternative heat packs and ice packs can comfort the patient to a large extent.
• Warm and baked potatoes can be applied as pack to reduce the pain
• Zostrix, a derivative of hot pepper can be wrapped around the elbow to reduce the sensation of pain
• Intake of Omega, a fatty acid generally found in fishes can relieve the pain
• The fluids extracted from the seeds of Celery if taken with hot water will prove beneficial

Tags: elbow pain

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 24th, 2010 at 9:03 am and is filed under Diseases. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.