Pain of the tendon attachment points on the elbow bone is common. The underlying irritations, however, are rather rarely caused by the eponymous ball game, but mostly by other constant or unusual stresses: sporadic but excessive DIY, constantly carrying around the baby, incessant keyboard editing.
Tennis elbow – who is affected?
Due to changes in stroke techniques and improved materials, tennis players are increasingly less likely to contract such inflammation of the muscles in the elbow area.
Much more common are office workers who have spent hours at home painting walls, for example, or building a garden shed from the home improvement store in a single weekend. Or people who constantly put their arm under prolonged strain, for example by carrying heavy loads or making uniform weight-bearing movements with their hands and arms – for example, mothers, secretaries, road, construction or assembly line workers are affected.
What causes tennis elbow?
In tennis elbow – the more accurate term is tennis elbow or, in technical terms, epicondylitis humeri radialis – tiny tears in the tendon attachment of the forearm extensor muscles at the elbow occur due to overuse. In most cases, these do not heal on their own, but trigger a painful inflammation.
How do I recognize tennis elbow?
Pressing or, later, even lightly touching the small bony prominence in question at the elbow (palpable above the elbow, for example, if you place your arm bent in front of you on the table) causes a sharp, stabbing pain. The fist becomes increasingly weak, and lifting and carrying heavy, and later lighter, objects such as a coffee cup hurts.
Eventually, things fall out of the hand more and more often and grasping, even shaking hands becomes almost impossible. The pain can also be felt in the wrists, back of the hand, forearm and fingers – especially in the case of so-called mouse arm.
Tennis elbow affects women and men equally, and is particularly common in middle age. If the other tendon insertions at the elbow are affected, one also speaks of golfer’s elbow (epicondylitis humeri ulnaris) – however, this occurs much less frequently.
Tennis elbow: diagnosis
How is tennis elbow recognized? The symptoms described are usually so typical that the suspected diagnosis is quickly made. This is confirmed by so-called resistance tests, in which the affected person must perform certain movements according to instructions and the doctor assesses painfulness and strength. Further examinations by ultrasound or even X-ray will only be necessary in exceptional cases, for example to rule out another cause.
