Ultimate Guide to Tennis Elbow Treatment in Melbourne
Tennis elbow, scientifically known as lateral epicondylitis, is a prevalent condition affecting millions of individuals worldwide, not just tennis players. Despite its name, this injury isn't exclusive to those who enjoy swinging rackets on the court; it can occur due to various repetitive arm motions. Understanding the pathology behind tennis elbow and exploring effective treatment options is crucial for managing this often-debilitating condition.
Understanding Tennis Elbow Pathology:
Tennis elbow primarily involves the tendons that attach to the lateral epicondyle, a bony prominence on the outside of the elbow. These tendons connect to the muscles that extend the wrist and fingers backward. The repetitive stress placed on these tendons, usually through activities involving gripping, lifting, or repetitive wrist extension, leads to microtears and degeneration.
The exact cause of tennis elbow isn't always clear, but repetitive motions and overuse are key contributing factors. Athletes who participate in sports requiring repetitive arm motions, such as tennis, golf, and other racket sports are at higher risk. However, work can also be a major factor in tennis elbow, individuals in trades such as plumbing, painting, electrical and carpentry, which involve repetitive arm movements and gripping onto tools are high risk. Unfortunately, tennis elbow can affect people from all walks of life, and office workers may not have a physically depending job like tradies, but even micro-movements of the tendons of the hand and forearm can leave some people susceptible.
Symptoms of Tennis Elbow:
Recognizing the symptoms of tennis elbow is essential for early diagnosis and treatment. Common signs and symptoms include:
Pain: The primary symptom is pain on the outside of the elbow, particularly around the bony bump of the elbow known as the lateral epicondyle. The pain may radiate down the forearm and worsen with gripping or lifting objects.
Weakness: Weakening grip strength is often reported by individuals with tennis elbow, making it difficult to perform daily activities or sports.
Stiffness: Stiffness in the elbow joint, especially after periods of inactivity or upon waking in the morning, is another common symptom.
Tightness: Tightness of the hand and forearm muscles, especially after a physical day of work can also be an early indicator.
Effective Treatment Strategies:
Managing tennis elbow involves a combination of conservative measures aimed at reducing pain and inflammation, promoting healing, and preventing recurrence through activity modification or rehabilitation. Here are some effective treatment strategies:
Rest and Activity Modification:
Resting the affected arm and avoiding activities that exacerbate symptoms is crucial in the initial stages of treatment.
Modify activities to reduce stress on the elbow. This may involve using proper ergonomic techniques and equipment.
NOTE: Due to the nature of some people’s work, rest is not always a realistic option and too much rest can lead to further injury in the future.
Ice or Heat Therapy:
Applying ice/heat packs to the affected area for 15-20 minutes several times a day helps reduce pain and inflammation.
Ice massages can also be beneficial, where ice is directly applied to the skin and moved in a circular motion around the elbow.
Heat tends to work better for helping with pain and reducing muscle tension around the affected elbow.
Chiropractic Care:
Chiropractic plays a vital role in rehabilitating tennis elbow. Therapeutic exercises help strengthen the muscles and tendons of the forearm and are key to preventing further injury.
Hands on techniques such as massage, cupping, dry needling, and joint mobilisations/adjustments can be used to promote healing and alleviate pain.
Bracing and Taping:
Supportive therapies such as wearing a brace or splint can provide that extra bit of support to the elbow and help alleviate strain on the affected tendons.
These devices are particularly useful during activities that aggravate symptoms – especially with tradies or people in physical jobs where they need to continue work and modifying the activity is not an option.
Medications:
Over-the-counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen can help reduce pain and inflammation associated with tennis elbow.
Reducing inflammation short-term can be effective to allow patients to do the rehab required.
Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy (ESWT):
ESWT is a non-invasive procedure that involves delivering shock waves to the affected area to stimulate healing.
This therapy has shown promising results in reducing pain and improving function in individuals with chronic tennis elbow.
Injectables - Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Therapy & Cortisone
PRP therapy involves injecting concentrated platelets from the patient's own blood into the affected tendon, these growth factors released by platelets promote tissues regeneration and accelerate the healing process.
In some cases, corticosteroid injections may be recommended to provide short-term relief of severe pain and inflammation.
Surgery:
In severe cases of tennis elbow that do not respond to conservative treatments, surgical intervention may be necessary.
The surgical procedure typically involves removing damaged tissue and repairing the tendon.
Prevention Strategies:
Preventing tennis elbow involves adopting habits and techniques that minimize strain on the elbow and forearm muscles. Some preventive measures include:
Proper Technique: Whether playing sports or performing manual tasks, using proper technique and equipment can help prevent overuse injuries.
Warm-up and Stretching: Engage in warm-up exercises and stretching routines before engaging in physical activities to prepare the muscles and tendons for exertion.
Gradual Progression: Avoid sudden increases in activity intensity or duration. Gradually build up strength and endurance to reduce the risk of overuse injuries.
Ergonomic Workstations: Maintain proper ergonomics at workstations by adjusting chair height, keyboard position, and monitor height to minimize strain on the arms and elbows.
Conclusion – is there a cure for tennis elbow?
As we have learnt tennis elbow is a common and often debilitating condition characterized by pain and tenderness on the outside of the elbow. While it can significantly impact daily activities and sports participation, early recognition is important. ‘The cure’ to tennis elbow is a comprehensive approach from a trained professional like our Chiropractor. This consists of a multi-factorial treatment strategy, initially reducing pain and inflammation that moves into rehabilitation strategies to strengthen the tendon and surrounding tissue to prevent reoccurrence and in rare cases referral for advanced interventions like ESWT or injectable therapy.
If you’re suffering from tennis elbow or elbow pain in general and need help getting it under control, please give Smart Health & Performance a call on 0493 497 786 or book online - we can discuss your options and help get you back on track.