Tennis elbow,also known as lateral epicondylitis, is a very common occurrence in people and can cause its sufferer to have a great deal of elbow discomfort. The cause of tennis elbow is somewhat of a mystery. There is reason to believe that the cause is due to tears in the tendon that are run from the muscles of the forearm to the bones of the arm at the joint of the elbow. This injury commonly affects the 35- to 65-year-old age group. Those affected are usually athletes or people who work with their hands.

The symptoms are, of course, pain. The pain is specifically noted on the outer aspect of the elbow. This pain is exacerbated when the patient bends the wrist back to grab on to an object. Additional symptoms of tennis elbow include pain that radiates throughout the forearm and pain upon lifting.

Treatment is recommended if there is persistent pain, inability or increased difficulty using your arms, swelling or bruising. Tennis elbow is best treated using conservative measures. This treatment is successful in most cases. Lifestyle modifications such as correct sizing of your athletic equipment and modified stroking mechanics when using your tennis racquet. The use of an anti-inflammatory medication will help to alleviate the pain and decrease the inflammatory process. Treatment methods involving exercises or braces may be suggested. An elbow brace will allow for redirection of the muscles that are not aligned correctly. This realigning of the muscles will sometimes help to combat the pain that is felt.

If the pain of tennis elbow does not decrease or cannot be kept under control with the above conservative treatment measures then additional medical treatment may be necessary. A surgical release is sometimes performed on the person suffering with tennis elbow although this is an uncommon treatment. Other surgical treatments include removal of the damaged tendon. If surgical repair is indicated the elbow is bandaged and splinted for approximately one week. Following this a patient will be allowed to use the elbow lightly with general usage of the arm usually obtained within six weeks. Full usage of the arm is commonly achieved by 12 weeks of time.

Newer treatments that are being tried include a procedure known as extracorporeal shock wave therapy. Sound waves are used in this controversial treatment that allows induction of minute portions of trauma to be sustained to the tissues. This induced trauma offers a healing to take place and inflammation to decrease. There is controversy whether this treatment is an effective form of treatment. Another treatment that is under scrutiny of further investigation is an autologous blood injection, which is injection of your own blood in to the area of question. This treatment is thought to promote healing to the area. This did provide good results of the small portion of people this was tried on.

If you are experiencing any of the above or suspicion that you may have tennis elbow then see your physician to obtain the proper treatment for you.