Tennis elbow - But I don’t even play tennis!
Tennis elbow is an inflammation of the outside of the elbow, technically named lateral epicondylitis.
The pain of tennis elbow is caused by inflammation of the tendon and periosteum (the outer layer of the bone) where the tendon from the back of the forearm joins the humerus (upper arm bone). The tendon connects the bone to the muscles that straighten the wrist. Any tension on that muscle - for example from a tennis backhand - will cause pain.
It is not just tennis backhands that put a stress on the muscles of the forearm and their attached tendon. Activities such as using a screwdriver, typing, or writing can all cause the typical tennis elbow pain.
Since tennis elbow affects the straightening of the wrist, you can test for it by lifting a weight, such as a book, with your palm facing down. Any pain in the outside of the elbow suggests you have tennis elbow.
This condition is ultimately due to overuse of the wrist extensor muscles. These muscles attach to the humerus just above the elbow joint on the outside of the elbow. The muscles then continue down the back of the forearm. The tendons then travel across the back of the wrist and hand and connect onto the fingers. These muscles contract to help extend the wrist moving it toward the back of the hand.
Too much tension in the muscle group can also cause a decrease in the joint space in the elbow and actual inflammation of the joint. In time this can cause not just the typical pain from the epicondylitis, but also from the elbow joint itself.
Conventional treatment of this condition may involve the use of anti-inflammatory medication and muscle relaxants along with temporary lifestyle modification. Physiotherapy modalities that may be employed include laser therapy, TENS, interferential current, or ultrasound.
Chiropractic techniques that work well with this condition include soft-tissue therapies such as active release technique, Graston, or cross-fiber friction massage. Chiropractic adjusting of the lateral elbow, including the proximal radial-ulnar joint and the radial-humeral joint, appear to be quite beneficial.
With adjusting, the two joint surfaces are spread apart an estimated one to three millimeters momentarily. This leads to an increase in volume and decrease in pressure in the joint. This will assist in the decrease in pain from the pressure built up in the joint from the condition of lateral epicondylitis. Adjusting of the wrist may be of some benefit as well.
This is because the muscles that cause the elbow pain operate through the wrist. If the wrist tightens up, more muscular activity is needed to move it, thus causing more tension and more pain. So making sure that wrist motion is maintained should help to ease the whole situation.
Another therapy that can be very helpful is the use of an elbow band. This works by transferring the tendon’s tension from its attachment to the bone (where it causes the pain) to the band instead.
Rest would, of course, be ideal. But sometimes some lifting has to be done. In that case , be careful to make sure that you only lift with the palm of the hand turned upward. This causes the wrist flexors to be used more than the wrist extensors.
Limiting salt intake may be beneficial as well as it will help to reduce water resorption in the body. Supplementing with vitamin B6 has also been found to be helpful in some cases.
In closing, if you feel that you may have this ailment, the best course of action is to have it looked at by your medical doctor or chiropractor so that the best treatment plans can be started to assist in recovery.
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