Tennis elbow is a common painful condition that involves the tendon that extends your wrist and originates at the outside of the elbow.  This usually occurs when the tendon is struggling to cope with an increased demand.  Symptoms can often start without any clear injury but may be related to overuse and repetitive movements or increased levels of activity.  This can be related to sports such as tennis but more often than not it usually occurs in people who have jobs that involve repetitive activities, such as people who use a keyboard, hairdressers or joiners for example.  It can also occur with a one-off sudden increase in activity for example laying flags in the garden. 

It affects women and men equally with the most common age group between the age of 35-55.

Patients often report pain on the outside of elbow which may radiate down the forearm with tasks such as lifting, typing, or gripping objects.  

Unfortunately, there is no quick fix, and the recovery process is slow.

Tennis elbow is generally a condition that will resolve on its own over 1-2 years but patients will often struggle to avoid the activity that is causing the pain meaning this timeframe may increase.  Pain and discomfort can have debilitating a effect on peoples day to day activities and people often seek help to manage with their symptoms.

Here are some self-help tips you can do to try and manage your symptoms:

  • You must reduce the stress or activity causing it – if this is a sporting activity you may want to reduce this activity for a period of time or seek advice from a professional such as a sports coach or physiotherapist to look at your technique.  If the cause is related to your occupation you may want to get help from your occupational health department or a physiotherapist.  For example if you work at a computer you can get a ergonomical keyboard or mouse that will reduce the stress on the tendon.
  • An epiclasp is a support that you place on the muscle bulk of the forearm that alters the stress on the tendon and can be useful to manage your symptoms whilst you are having to do the tasks that aggravate your pain.  
  • You may want to try putting heat or ice on the area for 20 minutes, try both and see what you find eases your symptoms the most.  Ensure you cover your skin when placing heat or ice on the area to ensure you don’t develop a burn.
  • NSAID gels or NSAID tablets may help with your symptoms, but we advise you speak to one of our pharmacists before you do as not everyone can take NSAID medication.
  • Exercises – gradually exposing the tendon to a graded exercise regime is the one treatment option that has the best overall evidence base but this needs to be done when your pain is not severe and is best guided by a physiotherapist.  Whilst this is not a quick fix as it takes time to change the make-up of the tendon, it is the one thing that will help in the long term and prevent recurrence.  

The steps above will enable you to start to manage your tennis elbow however if you are struggling with your day-to-day tasks or finding these self-help techniques are not helping, our physiotherapy team can guide you through an exercise programme and provide treatment that can help to kick start the healing process that may help with your symptoms.  

Click the link below to book your appointment today.