What is Tennis Elbow and its Cure? | Dr Chirag Patel

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What is Tennis Elbow and its Cure?
By Dr Patel Chirag
Website www.drpatelchirag.com
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What is Tennis Elbow and its Cure?

• It often occurs due to over using the forearm
  muscles and tendons and those around the elbow
  joint.
• Tennis elbow is also known as lateral elbow pain
  or lateral epicondylitis and is not necessarily
  related to tennis.
• Tennis elbow is an inflammation of the tendons
  that join the muscles of the forearm to the
  outside of the elbow.
•  Half of all tennis players will get tennis elbow
  in their career. It usually occurs between the
  ages of 30 and 50 years.

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• Tennis Elbow Symptoms
• The most common symptom of tennis elbow is
  recurring pain on the outside of the upper
  forearm, just below the bend of the elbow.
• Pain may also be felt further down the arm,
  towards the wrist. Pain can occur when an
  individual lifts or bends the arm. It is also
  felt while performing basic actions, such as
  writing or when gripping small objects.
• Tennis elbow can cause pain when twisting the
  forearm. This can be noticeable when turning a
  door handle or extending the forearm fully.

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• Tennis Elbow Causes
• In tennis, this translates to the repeated motion
  and force of hitting a ball with a racquet.
  Incorrect technique can cause the power in the
  swing of a racquet to rotate through and around
  the wrist.

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• This creates a movement on the wrist instead of
  the elbow joint or shoulder.
• The cause of tennis elbow stems from repeating
  incorrect movements of the arm. This can lead to
  small tears in the tendon attachment at the
  elbow.
• This can increase pressure on the tendon and
  cause irritation and inflammation. Most often,
  the extensor muscles become painful due this
  tendon breakdown. The extensor muscles are those
  that straighten the wrist.

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• Tennis elbow is associated with the extension of
  the fingers and the wrist.
• This is the kind of movement that allows the
  person to snap or flick the wrist, such as
  during a racquet swing.
•  Other causes which tennis elbow can also stem
  from daily activities such as using scissors,
  cutting tough food, gardening, sporting
  activities that involve high amounts of throwing,
  swimming, manual work that involves repetitive
  turning or lifting of the wrist, such as
  plumbing, typing, or bricklaying. Sometimes,
  there is no apparent cause.

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• How do you Diagnose Tennis Elbow?
• An X-ray or MRI scan is sometimes needed to rule
  out other more severe conditions such as
  arthritis or an elbow joint injury. However,
  imaging is rarely necessary.
• The doctor will test a range of motions with the
  arm before asking about the location and nature
  of the pain. This is normally enough information
  for tennis elbow diagnosis.

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• This may be required if the outer elbow pain does
  not respond to conservative treatment after a
  year.
• Electromyography (EMG) may be used to find out if
  the nerves are compressed.
• An MRI gives a more detailed image than an X-ray,
  as it includes the soft tissues, muscles, and
  tendons inside the arm.

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• Treatment Options
• Several treatment methods can be used at home or
  after consulting a physician.
• Rest
• Physical therapy
• Ice massages and muscle stimulating techniques

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• Strapping or taping the forearm
• Steroid injection
• Surgery may be needed to remove the damaged part
  of the tendon and relieve the pain in the rare
  cases where nonsurgical treatment does not
  resolve symptoms in 6 to 12 months . Between 80
  and 95 percent of patients recover without surgery

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Kiran Hospital Vastadevdi road, Near SRK Circle,
Sumul Diary Road, Surat, Tunki, Katargam,
Surat, Gujarat 395004. Hospital
Timings Monday - Friday 1000 AM - 0800 PM (
by appointments only) Saturday 1000 AM - 300
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