About the condition: Theories about the causes of tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) include nonathletic and occupational activities that require repetitive and forceful forearm twisting, as well as overuse or weakness (or both) of the muscles of the forearm, which originate from the outside of the elbow. For example, during a backhand return in racket sports such as tennis, the elbow and wrist are extended (backwards), and the muscle extensor tendons can be damaged when they roll over the bone on the outside of the elbow. Contributing factors include weak shoulder and wrist muscles, a racket strung too tightly, an undersized grip, hitting heavy wet balls, and hitting off-centre on the racket.
In resistance trainees, injuries often are caused by overuse (too much activity or doing the same movements too often) or by muscle imbalance between the forearm muscles. Nonathletic activities that can cause or contribute to tennis elbow include those involving grasping and twisting the elbow (eg, turning a screwdriver).
Symptoms: Pain at the outside part (lateral) of the elbow is most common, which can radiate into the forearm. Pain initially occurs in the extensor tendons of the forearm and around the lateral elbow when the wrist is extended against resistance (eg, as in using a manual screwdriver or hitting a backhand shot with a racket).
Treatment: “There are certain techniques chiropractors can use to reduce the recovery time of tennis elbow that include working on the involved muscles and tendons in the forearm. Most cases require a degree of modification of the activity that caused the problem and icing of the area. After this stretching and strengthening the involved muscles has been shown to be the most effective treatment for this condition, all of which we hope to help you with”, Dr Alex says.
