What is Tennis Elbow? What Can You Do About It?

Noting that baseball season is well underway, let’s take a look at one of the more common issues affecting baseball players – tennis elbow. Most baseball players don’t play tennis, or at least that we know of, however, they seem to get this strange pain in their elbow? Why is that? This week, we will identify what tennis elbow is and how we can cure it.

What is Tennis Elbow?

Tennis elbow is a condition that causes pain around the outside of the elbow. It is clinically known as lateral epicondylitis and is often the result of strenuous overuse of the muscles and tendons of the forearm, near the elbow joint.

The elbow joint is surrounded by muscles that give dexterity to the elbow, wrist, and fingers. The tendons in your elbow join muscle and bone together and are what allow you to control the muscles of your forearm. Damage to this area causes the symptoms of tennis elbow.

Common symptoms of tennis elbow are pain around the outside of the upper forearm – below the bend of the elbow. This pain is usually exaggerated when lifting or bending the arm, gripping small objects such as pens, or when twisting your forearm – when turning a door handle or opening a jar. It is often difficult to fully extend your arm when suffering from tennis elbow.

Pain can range from mild discomfort to severe pain even when the elbow is still and worsens when you use the damaged arm. The episode usually lasts between six months and two years depending on treatment. The majority of people will make a recovery within a year.

What Can You Do About It?

Tennis elbow will tend to get better by itself and you can recover without treatment. In most cases, you won't need to do anything but rest. There are some things you can to help speed along recovery.

It’s important that you rest your injured arm and stop doing the activity that’s causing the problem. That can mean you will have to stop playing baseball, take a break from painting and decorating, and stop doing whatever activity that is damaging the area. Compressing the area with ice several times a day can help reduce internal swelling – alongside taking paracetamol or other pain reliefs.

You should follow our PRICE procedure which you can read about here.

Physiotherapy may be recommended by your physician for more serious cases. Massaging and manipulating the affected area can reduce stiffness and improve the range of motion in your arm.

If you have suffered from Tennis elbow, please contact us at Mount Sinai Department of Rehabilitative Medicine for a bespoke rehab plan. Contact our switchboard at: (212) 241-6321