Like most older tennis players, I've had tennis elbow many times. Tennis elbow is brought on by repetitive stress to the tendons of the wrist extensor muscles, just below the elbow. The injury is known as "Tennis Elbow" because the majority of cases develop from the game of tennis. For tennis players tennis elbow may be caused by:
1) A poor backhand technique in tennis 2) A racket grip which is too small 3) Strings which are too tight 4) Playing with wet, heavy balls
Tennis elbow is also a result of overuse or repetitive strain due to repeated extension (bending back) of the wrist against resistance. Besides various racket sports, it is also common after periods of excessive wrist use in day-to-day life. My current case of tennis elbow was due to an over zealous racket stringer that changed to different strings and a higher string tension without telling me.
Symptoms of tennis elbow are:
1) Pain about just down from bony area at the outside of the elbow
2) Weakness in the wrist with difficulty doing simple tasks such as opening a door handle or shaking hands with someone
3) Pain on the exterior of the elbow if the hand is bent back (extended) in the wrist against resistance
4) Pain on the outside the elbow when attempting to straighten the fingers against resistance
There's two ways you may notice the start of tennis elbow:
1) Sudden Onset: Sudden onset of tennis elbow occurs in a single instance of exertion such as a late back hand where the extensors of the wrist become strained. This probably corresponds to micro-tearing in the tendon.
2) Late Onset: This normally takes place within 24-72 hours after a period of unaccustomed wrist extension. Examples might be a tennis player with a new racket or even a person who's spent a weekend doing "do it yourself" projects around the house. Examples would be using hammers, screwdrivers or heavy power tools.
When the elbow pain is so bad you have a hard time opening a door its time to visit your orthopedic specialist. Your doctor will normally gave a cortisone (steroid) shot in the elbow and tell you to use 2 Aleve (anti-inflammatory) pills twice per day. It is a standard treatment for tennis elbow and it's generally very effective in reducing the inflammation and pain.
There are several good tennis elbow braces to use when your are recovering.. A properly fitting tennis elbow brace will reduce the majority of the pain and can prevent further damage. There are several tennis elbow braces that can be purchased. Here are just a few of the more popular:
1) The Aircast pneumatic tennis elbow armband is my personal favorite. It utilizes a single inflated air cell to concentrate compression on extensor muscles for more support and less constriction. This is a very durable brace and will last for a long time. I even keep another around my workshop for when hammers or power tools are utilized.
2) The Band It tennis elbow brace was Designed by world renowned orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist, Donald Fareed, M.D. It focuses compression over the extensor muscle like the Aircast, however it uses a plastic insert attached to an adjustable strap. One of my friends has used this tennis elbow brace effectively for several years.
3) The top elbow brace available is the Bauerfeind EpiTrain elbow support. This brace is a unique knitted elbow support that incorporates two anatomically contoured silcone inserts. These silicone inserts leave the elbow bones pressure free and provides an intermittent compression to the soft tissue of the elbow joint which provides increased circulation.