Most patients feel pain or tenderness on the outside of the elbow, sometimes extending down the forearm to the wrist. Pain can also be felt when bending the wrist back and forwards.
Patients can also present with stiffness, weakness and tenderness of the neck, shoulder, elbow and wrist when carrying out simple functions like opening jars, shaking hands, opening doors or moving the elbow.
Tennis elbow might sound like a sports injury, but in reality it can happen to anyone who performs a repetitive action.
It occurs when the muscles and tendons that insert into the elbow are overused and overstressed to the point that the tendon suffers from microtears.
We find it’s very common in people over 40, and we treat everyone from bricklayers and painters to typists and musicians.
How we diagnose Tennis Elbow
We’ll start by asking where the pain is and how it feels, for example is it a shooting or burning pain?
We’ll then assess your strength, your motion and your occupations to see what the symptoms are, and most importantly, what the cause may be.
In most cases, your medical history and physical exam will be enough for us to make a diagnosis. However, if an MRI, ultrasound or X-Ray is required we can refer you for one of these and then read and interpret the results on your return.
At Action Rehab our therapists focus on restoring stability to the muscles around the elbow. It is really important that we can identify the source of your pain or instability, as there are many complexities associated with it, and the problem can become chronic and very painful if the microtears aren’t given time to heal, strengthen and stabilize.
