Tennis elbow is a form of tendinitis that affects the elbow. While it’s referred to as tennis elbow, its official medical name is lateral epicondylitis, and it’s not exclusively a condition that affects tennis players. At Premier Chiropractic Center, serving Bessemer, AL, and the nearby region, we’d like to explain the signs, what could cause it, and when you should seek help.
General Information
This condition occurs when you overload the tendons in your elbow. Often, it arises when you play a sport or perform a work-related task that stresses the tendons repeatedly.
With tennis elbow, you might experience pain in your elbow that may extend down your arm to your wrist. You might also suffer from muscle weakness. Both of these symptoms can interfere with you performing certain tasks comfortably, such as turning a doorknob.
Causes of Tennis Elbow?
Tennis elbow is an overuse injury. It tends to happen when you perform the same motion over and over again that involves your elbow. You could develop small tears in the tendon that causes swelling.
Some of the possible professions or sporting activities that make you more vulnerable to elbow tendinitis include the following:
- Tennis
- Computer mouse usage
- Painting
- Butchers
- Weightlifters
- Plumbers
Certain factors make you more at risk as well, such as your age. It tends to happen more often when you’re between the ages of 30 and 50. If you have poor form, you’re more likely to develop this condition from tennis.
Diagnosing This Condition
If you have risk factors and suffer from elbow pain, even if it’s the first time, it helps to schedule an appointment with a chiropractor. Our practitioner can determine for sure that you have this particular condition.
When you come to our Bessemer office, our practitioner will gather information about your condition and medical history. Our chiropractor will then ask you to move your elbow and wrist so we can get an idea of your range of motion. Our practitioner will then manually press on different areas to assess for swelling. Usually, this is enough to diagnose elbow tendinitis.
In some cases, however, our specialist may recommend you undergo an X-ray or other imaging to rule out other possible causes of elbow tendinitis that don’t seem likely.
Getting the Treatment You Need
If you’re at risk for elbow tendinitis and have symptoms, schedule an appointment as soon as possible. Even if you don’t have risk factors but suffer from pain and weakness in your arm or elbow region, seek out our assistance.
We can determine an appropriate treatment and get you back to playing the game again or working as soon as possible. We can also prevent you from worsening the issue.
Our treatment may include chiropractic exercise. This is when our chiropractor guides you through a series of exercises that work your elbow and the rest of your arm. The exercises are stretches that slowly move the area so you may gradually regain function and flexion. These exercises also promote circulation to the area to enhance the healing process.
Part of our treatment may consist of lifestyle advice and at-home remedies to ease your swelling, pain, and discomfort.
And if you desire, we can guide you through techniques to perfect your swing or reduce the prevalence of tennis elbow happening again in general.
At Premier Chiropractic Center, serving Bessemer, and the nearby region, we can help you heal from tennis elbow, no matter the cause of it. We can also help you prevent it in the future. That’s why, if you have signs, you should contact us immediately for an appointment by calling 205-519-4024. You may also reach us via our online form.
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