What is Tennis Elbow?

 

 

What is Tennis Elbow Exactly?

Tennis elbow or lateral epicondylitis is an injury on the outside of the elbow that can become very painful. It is usually a result of stress, overuse or trauma on the outside of the elbow; the repeated contraction of the muscle fibers of the forearm creates a localized stress at the tendons’ points of insertion into the bone of the elbow, although it is sometimes difficult to find an easy or clear cause. A similar lesion is the golfer elbow which affects the inside of the elbow.

Lateral Epicondylitis

The most frequent injury of upper extremity in tennis is the lateral elbow injury, a result of overuse or repetitive effort on the extensor tendons of the forearm, particularly the short extensor muscle of the carpus. More frequent in the amateur player, the injury usually results from a blow with bad form (hitting the ball to counterattack, charging energy only in the forearm, instead of the entire arm from the shoulder), or a powerful serve which combines pronation(palm down) and a rapid flexion of the wrist, loading all the effort in these forearm extensor tendons.

 

Medial Epicondylitis

It is less common and typically occurs with simultaneous activity of the flexor and pronation of the wrist, as may happen:

 1- At the end of the volley, when the player quickly flexes the wrist to bring the racket forward.

 2- In the first phase of the serve, where every effort is located in the tissues of the medial elbow.

 3- The so-called “golf elbow” in the right elbow of a right-handed golfer when conducting a faulty swing with the erect torso.

 4- The “swimmer elbow”, which is due to lack of technique in some styles of swimming, especially backwards.

 Please note that epicondylitis is not limited to tennis players, golf, baseball or swimming, but can occur in any activity that puts the lateral or medial compartments of the elbow under similar repetitive action (using a hammer, screwdrivers, or even long hours using a computer mouse).