Tennis elbow is quite common in the clinic. The main symptom is the pain at the external side of the elbow.  Most people knew the name – tennis elbow, but don’t  know why. They always asked “I don’t play tennis. Why I got tennis elbow?”

Tennis elbow is clinically known as”lateral epicondyle tendinopathy”.The lateral epicondyle is the bony lump we can feel at the outside the elbow. The pain is usually due to repetitive movement of wrist extension and  upward rotation of forearm,  which leads to tiny tear or inflammation at muscle tendons around elbow. It often occurs with tennis player, but not limited to.A lot of physical work require similar actions repeatedly.

Since it causes a lot of pain during our daily activities, such as pulling weeds, using screwdriver or wringing towels, the first priority is to relieve the pain. Steroid injection is controversial due to its potential side affect. Instead, acupuncture is a well-documented natural therapy on pain relieving.  Another key in tennis elbow management which is often ignored, is exercise of wrist extension and forearm supination. This helps strengthen the relevant muscles and restore arm functions.

You are always welcome to the clinics if you have any problem with your elbow.