Tennis elbow is sometimes called Lateral Epicondylitis.
Tennis elbow is a term used to describe a condition where an individual experiences extreme pain at the back of their elbow.
The pain feels worse during movement, usually actions that involve some strength to straighten the arm, twisting the forearm, or bending the wrist.
It is not a tennis injury.
The name is misleading.
Most people who have tennis elbow do not play tennis.
Your doctor may tell you, 'It might be overuse'.
They may tell you, 'It might be' an activity you're doing.
Your Doctor will likely ask you what you think may be a factor, and just validate what you say.
The reality is, often, there's no clinical cause he/she can tell you, because it's a condition that sneaks up on people out of the blue.
Doctors use "Tennis Elbow" as a term to describe condition, but they do not know the root cause.
If there was a specific injury revealed by testing, the doctor would usually give a more specific diagnosis.
There's never any harm in getting diagnostics done.
If there is a more specific injury, those tests often reveal the issue.
But if your ache kind of came out of nowhere and your doctor isn't ordering more tests, don't be alarmed.
You just want to know what to do.
This is a condition that is really all up to you to resolve.
Unfortunately there's nothing your doctor can really do.
But there is a lot you can do.
There is a lot of misinformation online.
You will find sites offering bands and stretches and exercises as a solution. Really, these often aggravate the condition.
The focus on repetitive strain often doesn't capture the differences between when repetitive activity is harmful and when it's not.
We clarify all of this below.
There's a lot of valuable information for you to know.
Understanding the condition is the key to resolving it once and for all.
What's most important to understand first, is that, often, the pain and the cause are often 2 different events.
Said again, the activity you are doing that causes the condition is very often not the activity you are doing when you feel the pain!
Key Takeaways:
Most people feel the pain of tennis elbow first, in some sort of physical activity that they often do.
It might be tennis, or it might be another form of exercise, or it may be something you do commonly at home.
In the end though, the activity that the pain first shows up in, is often not the cause of the issue itself.
It's just where you first feel the pain.
That you feel pain during some activities is important.
Pain during any activity means that what you are doing is more than what your elbow is ready to do at that point in time.
It may not be the activity that started the problem, but it is now an activity that can make the situation worse.
When you have pain, respect the pain.
Let up on the activity you are doing a bit.
Don't drive through the pain.
Even if that activity didn't cause it, driving through pain can definitely make your condition worse.33x32x
Repetitive strain and Overactivity are often said to be the cause of Tennis Elbow.
Let's be clear here:
Overactivity or Repetitive Strain that causes Tennis Elbow is only when you do something excessively strenuous over and over.30x If the activity is light, you can almost always do it endlessly and not have to worry about developing Tennis Elbow or other elbow injuries.
Your elbow is designed to do repetitive activity.
Lifting medium to light weights repeatedly, constant pushing, pulling, sweeping, and bending of the elbow - these are all considered light activity.
Even a whole lot of light repetitive activity is not a concern for a healthy elbow.
Again, your elbow is designed to do that type of light to moderate activity repeatedly.
There are protectors in your elbow called bursae.
Usually, a bursa protects your epicondyle tendons from rubbing on the bone and surrounding tissue.
That's its purpose.
For light to medium activity, it is 100% protection.
If the activity is heavy though, if you are putting a lot of pressure on the joint during the motion, the tissue can push together more than the bursa can protect them, and injury can happen.33x Even if it happens occasionally, that's not a problem.
The bursa will protect you during times of occasional heavy strain.
But there's a limit when it comes to heavy activity.
Tennis Elbow can go away if you let up on the activity and let the joint heal.
Often, active people develop epicondylitis that they don't even realize is there.
And the body's response to a slightly injured tendon is to start producing synovial fluid, which fills up the bursa and nourishes the area to help the joint heal.
When the repetitive injury is mild enough that you don't notice it, but it persists for a long time, then that can cause Tennis Elbow to develop.
Again, it's worth noting that if you are doing mild repetitive activity, you are not likely to sustain any injury no matter how much you do it.
If the elbow tendons are not being pushed hard enough to bump more than the bursa can protect them, then your joint can do that activity forever.
So don't get confused by the terms 'overuse injury' and 'repetitive strain injury'.
That sort of injury only occurs if the excessive activity is also excessively strenuous on the joint.
There are other much less common elbow injuries that can result in damaged elbow tendons.
If you have a very jarring motion, it is possible to put a significant tear in a tendon with just one incident.
Those situations are less common.
Suffice it to say, that if some part of that Elbow has an injury that you don't know about and your body is trying to resolve it for a long time, Tennis Elbow can result.
Key Takeaways:
By far, the most common causes of Tennis Elbow are what you are doing when you are not moving!
Your elbow is designed to be in constant motion.
Your elbow is made to do repetitive tasks.
That constant motion keeps things moving in your elbow and your elbow is happy that way.
Think about what you are doing when you're not being active though.
When you sit at the computer or when watching TV is your bad arm tensed in the same certain position all the time?
Are you constantly resting your head on your arm, and your elbow on the table, as you look at your screen at work?
Do you sleep with your elbow bent tight and your hand under your head or your pillow?
Do you spend significant time in the day or night with your elbow hyper-extended (fully straightened)?
These things that we sometimes do - where we lock our elbow in a position for an extended period of time - may be the root cause of the problem.
These sorts of stresses are called Isometric Strain.46x
Yes, it is possible that a stressful activity you are doing, or something repetitive, could be the cause.
But those types of injuries usually lead to tendonitis, or osteoarthritis, or torn tissue, or various other conditions that do show up through diagnostics.
In those situations, the doctor gives that specific diagnosis.
If you really think your exercise at the gym is to blame, you may be right.
People usually first feel the pain during activity so it's natural to guess that might be the cause.
But don't rule out the high probability that isometric strain as discussed above is truly the original source of the problem.
Key Takeaways:
Your elbow is designed to be in constant motion.
That motion contributes to circulation and prevents the parts of your joints from getting squeezed for too long.
You can actually hurt your elbow by 'doing nothing'.
Constant pressure on a body part when it is not moving can lead to injuries called Isometric Strain Injury.46x If you are inactive for an extended period of time and your elbow is being held in a position where part of it is being squeezed too much and too long, you may be hurting yourself.
You have cartilage between the bones in your elbow.
When you move it gets squeezed between the bones and released, over and over again.
It's designed to work that way.
But it's possible, when you stop in the wrong position, that your bones squeeze the cartilage constantly and do some damage.47x If that position is held for really long periods of time, day after day, that damage may accumulate.
The same goes for your tendons and ligaments and nerves and the other tissue in your elbow.
If they get squeezed under a lot of pressure for a very long time, they can get damaged.
Very often, it is the times when we're not using our elbows that cause the condition.
And that kind of damage doesn't hurt when it's happening.
It hurts later, when you try to use the tissue for your normal activity.48x Very often, that is at the root of Tennis Elbow.
So the chances are high that you may be hurting your elbow during times of inactivity.
And that makes it hard to figure out because you end up feeling the pain during other times of activity.49x It is quite probable that the activity you are doing when you feel the pain isn't the root cause of the problem.
But the pain is an indication that your situation is bad enough that your activity may start to make your situation worse.
The good news is that if you correct the underlying cause and treat the condition so it heals, you may be able to resume your favorite activity and never have to worry about Tennis Elbow again.
Key Takeaways:
If you look online, many sites repeat the message that 2 years is the typical duration for Tennis Elbow to plague people.
But that data is very old and it is also based on people who did nothing to correct the root cause or proactively heal their elbow.
Your Tennis Elbow is going to last until your body successfully heals the underlying injury.
By the time that damage develops to the point that you notice it, you have probably had the injury for several months already.
There's no doubt about it, something in your lifestyle is causing your injury to persist - your body can't heal the problem as fast as it's getting reinjured.
So, it is unlikely that it will just go away, unless you change something about your activity.
Perhaps you've already corrected the underlying issue and it just didn't have a chance to heal, and the pain has persisted ever since.
Knowing the cause is the best scenario, because if that's the case, you know what to change.
You can allow your body to heal and get past that injury.
Then, you are likely to be able to return to the same activity level as before and never have the problem again.
No matter what the cause, though, you have an underlying injury now and you need to let it heal.
If you correct the underlying problem, your tennis elbow will go away and you will likely be able to resume normal life.
That is, if this whole ordeal is dealt with properly...
The internet is full of bad advice about tennis elbow. Here's a short list though: Don't start wearing bands or compression sleeves that squeeze your elbow - that's a recipe for much worse problems. If there's a lump, that may be protective tissue developing, not swelling. Pain killers don't heal you. They mask the pain and that will probably make it worse because you'll keep doing the things that reinjure your elbow. Driving through the pain will just make it worse. Creams don't solve the underlying problem - again they just mask the pain if they do anything at all.
For a little while - not forever - it is really helpful to give your elbow a rest.
In many cases, resting your elbow for a few weeks will give it time to heal to a point that your body gets ahead of the problem.
It's important to realize that once the pain goes away, your underlying injury may not be healed completely.
Take it easy.
Once the pain and swelling are gone, go back to regular life gradually.
If you want to be more proactive about healing the problem, you can click here to visit the Recommended Actions page.
If you want your Tennis Elbow to go away as quickly as possible, you need to rest your elbow.
Avoid any physical activities that could cause further pain.
If you really think your tennis elbow developed from a specific activity, do your best to avoid that activity for an extended period of time.
Do regular ColdCure® treatments to control the pain and swelling in the back of your elbow.
The compression during each treatment helps gently move synovial fluid back into your elbow from the bursa sac where it may be collecting.
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You can also focus on healing your underlying elbow injury with regular BFST® treatments. 6x
This combination will work to finally get rid of your Tennis Elbow.
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To minimize pain and swelling, use a ColdCure® any time your pain level increases, or if you have been active. The ColdCure® Elbow Wrap provides effective relief of the swelling and pain that comes with Tennis Elbow. ColdCure® Elbow Wraps use cold and compression together, because cold and compression are the two things you need to help reduce pain and swelling as quickly and effectively as possible. 27x The application of cold compression must be uniform and complete if it's going to work the best.26x 51x This is why the ColdCure® Elbow Wrap has been custom designed to perfectly fit the back and sides of the Elbow, to ensure that your injury receives an even distribution of cooling power.
ColdCure® Elbow Wrap - Stop the Pain
If your biggest issue is the pain, then you definitely want the ColdCure® wrap. The ColdCure® Elbow Wrap comes with 3 swappable cold packs that contain our unique XC RigiGel® formula. This isn't that 'blue goo' that you get from the drug store, no way. This is super gel. It holds tons more cold and stays cold much longer. Its ice that bends like rubber. It's amazing. The elasticized wrap holds the cold firmly in place against your injury sucking away the pain while it gently reduces swelling. If pain is your #1 concern, this is your #1 solution. With extra gel packs included you can treat the pain over and over again, never running out of ice.
KB Basics Elbow Cold Pack - An Economical Alternative to ColdCure
This little gem is our low cost alternative to the ColdCure wrap.
The ColdCure wrap fully opens and straps in place with Velcro closures.
By comparison, this economical wrap is made of stretchy material and it slips on like a sleeve without adjustable straps.
It fits most elbows, except for really big or really small ones.
Where the ColdCure has 3 replaceable gel packs that you insert into the wrap, this basics version has just one gel pack that is sewn right into the wrap.
In between uses you will put the entire wrap in the freezer, not just the gel pack like you do with the ColdCure version.
For the price, though, this is a super high quality and effective little wrap for your Elbow.
It's not quite ColdCure quality, but it sure is good!
If you want to just stick with the most essential piece, the BFST® Elbow Wrap is your best choice. This treatment wrap is used to treat both the inside and the outside of the elbow at the same time. It doesn't matter where your injury is, the BFST® will bring blood flow through your entire elbow. This Class II medical device actively stimulates healing through your entire elbow to get you on the mend ASAP! As is, this device plugs into a wall outlet for 20 minute sessions of comfortable soothing Blood Flow Stimulation. To Stimulate Healing for a quick recovery, it is really all you need. Treat yourself in the morning and at night and before any strenuous activity and your healing process will happen as fast as possible.
Your elbow moves a lot through the day, and when you're struggling with Tennis Elbow, you feel every little movement.
You can't stop everything and wait for your Tennis Elbow to go away, so let's provide some support for your elbow, without taking away your range of motion.
KB Support Tape™ is designed to protect your tendons, ligaments and muscles and help prevent further damage as you go through your day.
It does this all without restricting your range of motion.
Our skin is soft and elastic and can stretch much more than the tissue underneath.
When you apply Support Tape™ to your skin, it becomes a much more rigid surface than before; serving to limit how much the skin can stretch.
Support Tape™ makes your skin a source of outside support to hold your damaged tissue beneath it in place, helping you avoid re-injury.24x That's why we call it armor for your injury.
Support Tape™ - Protection from Re-Injury
Too busy to be injured? Have to keep going? Then Support Tape™ is your "must have".
Constant re-injury is often the biggest reason the Tennis Elbow doesn't heal.
It heals when at rest but when you get back on the go, the injury gets worse.
Athletes are always taped up. That's to prevent against re-injury while they are active.
And King Brand Support Tape™ is made for that purpose.
Taping is very underappreciated and very effective.
If you have to keep moving, you have to tape.
There's one big difference between King Brand Support Tape and regular kinesiology tapes and athletic tapes you find in the drug stores.
King Brand tape is medical grade; all those others are athletic grade.
The difference is that medical grade tape is designed to be worn all day long, day after day, like when you're dealing with tennis elbow.
They may look the same, but the materials are entirely different.
Athletic tape is designed for occasional, temporary use - maybe an hour or two at a time, every now and then.
The materials in Athletic tape can be toxic to your skin with prolonged exposure.
Many are even carcinogenic.
King Brand medical tape is designed for long term repeated use like you will use it treating your elbow.
Choose wisely and stay safe.
The color is purely your sense of style.
The Pre-Cut Strips are super convenient; they're really the right length for most elbow taping.
You still may cut one piece in half though.
The Continuous Roll gives you more control over how you tape your Elbow and you get the most use out of a single roll.
We've briefly covered the most common reasons people are plagued by Tennis Elbow. There's lots more information available. You can explore the Quick Links menu at the very bottom of the screen - they all containing more information about the condition. Here are some of the popular pages:
