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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    What is tennis elbow? What is the treatment?

    Related Topics
    Fitness and Sports Medicine Sports Injuries & Prevention
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    Dr Aaron Albrecht

    Chiropractor

    Dr. Aaron Albrecht works at Body Wise Chiropractic in Bibra Lake, Western Australia. The clinic is located within a gym, and Dr. Albrecht is the … View Profile

    Hi,

    Tennis elbow (also known as lateral epicondylitis or LE) is injury to the common extensor origin and extensor muscles/tendons of the aspect of the elbow furthest from the body (the lateral epicondyle). This can arise from overuse, poor technique or equipment or acute injury.

    Treatment invloves modification of behaviour in order to correct poor technique in the ctivity aggravating the condition, in concert with physical therapies affecting the structures mentioned above. This can include stretching, massage (manual or instrument assisted), dry needling, heat/ice and anti-inflammatories.

    It should be noted that the majority of sufferers do not play tennis, but it is very common in patients who perform manual tasks heavily involving repetitive twisting (i.e. using a screwdriver). In these people and those who DO play tennis, changing the size of the grip of their equipment is shown to have good results.

    Hope this helped.

    - Dr. A

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    Irene Siew

    Physiotherapist

    Tennis elbow is a repetitive stress injury of your elbow. It involves a group of muscles, called wrist extensors, that attach to the outer part of your elbow. These muscles are commonly overworked with lifting, activities involving grip, typing or using a computer mouse.

    When these muscles are forced to work harder than what they can cope with, this causes changes in the tendons that join these muscles to the bony area on the outside of your elbow, and as a result pain and weakness.

    Physiotherapists are able to treat these injuries with a combination of massage, dry needling and strengthening exercises.

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    Dr Greg Sher

    Chiropractor

    I am the Clinic Director of the Sydney Spine and Sports Clinic.At our clinic, we see an equal mix of city office workers and elite … View Profile

    On top of the above 2 answers, Lateral Epicondylitis can also develop in people who have postural issues in their necks, leading to degenerative changes, possible causing pressure on the nerves. 

    This could create a weakness in the arm, leading to overuse of the muscles, creating an injusry. 

    If that is the case, then appropriate treatment/management would involve work on improving movement and posture in the neck and spine. 

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    Ryan Kennedy

    Physiotherapist

    I graduated from the University of Newcastle in 2007. I returned home to Canada in 2008 and worked as a physiotherapist until returning to Australia. … View Profile

    Tennis elbow is very similar to golfers elbow, except this is pain that arises on the lateral side of the elbow, the outside of the elbow.
    It iss caused by an irritation in the common extensor tendon. It is commonly seen in people that have poor grip, who play tennis, thus arises the name. This can also be a condition from office workers that do a lot of wrist extension or office workers that do a lot of mouse work.
    The treatment for it initially is to treat the pain. To decrease the inflammation in the tendon, to regain proper neural glides to the affected tissue and to strengthen the extensor.
    From my point of view it would be to change technique forehand and backhand, just to make sure the patient is doing that correctly.

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    Hubert Huynh

    Physiotherapist

    I am a Sydney based Musculoskeletal and Sports Physiotherapist with a strong focus on manual therapy and functional rehabilitation. I am trained in a number … View Profile

    Tennis elbow or lateral epincondyalgia is an overuse injury of the common extensor group of muscles in the forearm.

    When these muscles are forced to work non-optimally or more than they can cope, this causes irritation to these muscles and can result in pain and weakness.

    From my experience, if treatment of the area has not completely resolved the problem - other biomechanical factors can load the tendons such as poor control of the shoulder, wrist or referred pain from the neck.

    It is best to find out why you are getting the problem in the first place; whether it be poor control of your other joints that require the elbow to work more to stabilise the upper limb or a technique fault with any given sport/ activity you participate in.

    I hope this helps

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    Dr Michael Black

    Chiropractor

    Located in Armadale and Doncaster, Dr Michael Black has an interest in childrens' health and pregnancy. He is passionate aout sharing the benefits of chiropractic … View Profile

    It is interesting to note that in the modern digital age, there are an increasing number of cases of elbow and forearm strain presenting to therapists related to digital appliances they are operating with increasing frequency and for prolonged periods.

    Classically, we assumed that a sport or activity was involved, if not sitting at the PC. With the line blurring between work and social media use, some people are keying with poor posture and stabilisation of the upper limb most of their waking hours.

    Constant neck flexion, shoulder internal rotation and overuse of the forearm extensors are making the classic tennis elbow an almost endemic situation in many people.

    iPad elbow is a new term coined by rheumatologists, not dissimilar to text neck or text thumb!

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