Tennis Elbow Description

Tennis elbow is a painful condition that describes pain on the outer arm above the elbow. It is termed tennis elbow but afflicts people with activities that add stress to the elbow by throwing, swinging or pushing. Tennis elbow is medically known as lateral epicondylitis and is characterized by several symptoms.

Definition

• Tennis elbow is a chronic injury that results from prolonged stress on the elbow. This causes an inflammation of the lateral epicondyle of the arm.

Anatomy

• The lateral epicondyle is the bone protuberance on the outside of the elbow and is part of the humerus bone. Tendons attach this to the forearm (radius and ulna bones).

Tenderness

• One of the first symptoms of tennis elbow is the area becomes tender to the touch and sensitive. A person may notice some swelling in the area, but this is generally not readily visible to the eyes.

Pain

• As the conditions worsens, pain radiates down the arm from the outside of the elbow through the forearm and wrist. Gripping objects and extending the muscles trigger more pain.

Weakness

• As tennis elbow progresses, the pain continues with weakness in the forearm ensuing. It may be difficult to hold a racket or even a cup of coffee as a result.