These symptoms indicate that you suffer from tennis elbow

The typical symptoms of tennis elbow are: In addition to the typical pulling, burning pain on the outside of the elbow, which can be caused by pressure or even at rest, there are other characteristic symptoms associated with tennis elbow. Pain can occur particularly when the elbow is stretched, as well as when the forearm is rotated (e.g. when screwing) and when lifting heavy loads. In addition to the pain, in some cases sensitivity disorders can also occur.

Sensitivity disorders are feelings of numbness, which are often limited to the area of the elbow, but in some cases can also affect the forearm. In cases of severe inflammation, external signs of inflammation can rarely be observed, such as redness, swelling and overheating of the elbow joint. However, this is less frequently the case with tennis elbow; rather, such symptoms indicate inflammation of the joint (arthritis) or the bursae (bursitis).

Pain on the outer side of the elbow
Pain when grasping the elbow
Pain when lifting the wrist
Pain when stretching the fingers

Typical for tennis elbow or tennis elbow is on the one hand the pain that can be triggered by pressure on the outside of the elbow – where the tendons of the forearm muscles are located – and on the other hand the pain that is only intensified by the movement of the affected forearm muscles. The pressure pain is caused by the local inflammation, which irritates the tissue and skin in the area of the elbow. The pain of movement is provoked mainly by stretching the fingers and wrist (especially against resistance). Sometimes even the closing of the fist or turning of the forearm can cause pain.

Specific localized symptoms

With tennis elbow, the accompanying symptoms are mainly in the area of the forearm. The pain is mainly concentrated on the outside of the elbow, which can be triggered by pressure. In addition, pain is caused by stretching movements of the fingers and wrist, often also by fist closure and rotation of the forearm.

Initially, the pain is often only felt in the tendon attachment area of the elbow, but as the disease progresses or the muscles are subjected to additional strain, it can then radiate clearly into the forearm. Depending on how pronounced the inflammation is in tennis elbow, the pain can also spread beyond the elbow. In severe cases, the pain can also radiate into the upper arm under stress, certain movements or sometimes even at rest.

More often, however, pain radiates to the upper arm and forearm at the golfer’s elbow, where it is not the tendon attachments on the outer elbow that are inflamed, but those on the inside. Here it can happen that the whole arm hurts. If, in addition to the pain in the elbow, there is also pain or painful movement restrictions in the shoulder, this can sometimes be an indication of incorrect weight bearing, incorrect posture or incorrect movements in the area of the upper body. In some cases, a severely inflamed tennis elbow can even lead to pain radiating into the shoulder. On the other hand, a painful shoulder can also lead to poor posture and incorrect strain on the muscles of the forearm, which in turn can cause tennis elbow when overstrained.