What is Tennis Elbow and Golfers Elbow?
Tennis elbow and golfers’ elbow – clinically known as lateral epicondylitis and medial epicondylitis – is a condition that causes pain around the outside of the elbow joint. The condition often occurs after strenuous overuse of the muscles and tendons of the forearm.
Tennis Elbow and golfers elbow are known to be extremely painful conditions to put up with which often prevents the individual to carry on playing the sport they love! Symptoms include elbow pain, elbow weakness and in worse cases, an inability to grip and hold objects.
The Causes
Tennis elbow and golfers’ elbow isn’t limited to sport activities as it’s caused by overuse during gripping activities, such as:
- Racket sports – improper techniques with the racket, especially the backhand motion, can cause injury to the tendon.
- Throwing sports – improper pitching techniques in throwing sports can cause pain, including football, archery and javelin throwing.
- Weight training – lifting weights using an improper technique can overload the elbow muscles and tendons and cause pain, such as curling the wrists for bicep exercises.
- Repetitive movements – in industries such as construction, plumbing and carpentry.
- Gripping activities – using a paintbrush or screwdriver or gripping the steering wheel
The Symptoms
- Pain and tenderness
- Stiffness in the elbow
- Weakness in the hands and wrists
- Numbness or tingling which radiates into the fingers
The pain can come on suddenly or gradually and the pain may worsen with certain movements.
How Can We Help?
Physiotherapy treatment can help to improve your symptoms and speed up your recovery time.
Faye Pattison Physiotherapy has a team of highly experienced specialists who have a number of treatment methods for elbow and arm pain and will work with you to treat the cause of the pain, offering a unique treatment, exercise plan and expert advice on how to help prevent reoccurrence of the injury and pain you are experiencing. Tennis and golfers’ elbow are regularly treated by our physiotherapists and soft tissue therapists at our clinic in Chelmsford, to get patients back to the sport they love.
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