Tennis elbow is a painful condition where the elbow tendon gets inflamed. Tennis elbow does not necessarily affect only tennis players. Many people engaged in repetitive grasping movements get affected by tennis elbow pain. Professionals like carpenters, weight lifters, and typists are more at risk of developing painful elbow. Repeated heavy exercise at the elbow region is the only causative factor for this problem.
Tennis elbow mainly represents with pain at the elbow region, which gets aggravated on flexion movements. The pain aggravates when one tightens the fist or raises the hand. Along with pain, there is tenderness on bony prominence at the elbow. X-ray and magnetic resonance imaging are needed to diagnose and assess the severity of damage of fibers in tennis elbow pain. Most of the time the pain in the elbow stops on its own, provided the person gives rest to the elbow. So providing proper rest to the elbow movements is first treatment to stop pain of tennis elbow.
The initial treatment of tennis elbow is targeted at stopping the pain and inflammation. The pain in tennis elbow can be well-managed by icing. Just rubbing an ice cube for 20 minutes every four hours is sufficient to stop the pain markedly in maximum cases. To get better pain relief, this treatment can be continued for three days up to one week.
Applying analgesic ointments at the affected area is also an effective treatment to stop the pain. Massage increases the circulation and relieves stiffness and pain. Another effective treatment to stop pain is to use the elbow band/strap. This treatment is aimed at restricting movement at the elbow.
Some exercises can be done under medical supervision to strengthen the muscles and to stop pain in the elbow tendon. These exercises, combined with physical therapy, help in healing the torn fibers. A range of motion exercises are often recommended for this problem. One of the best exercises is to turn the wrist while holding some weight in the fist. This exercise imparts strength to the muscles and helps stop pain.
People tend to start repetitive exercises to manage pain in the elbow, but this is not the right thing to do. Continuous repetitive exercises to the elbow area can further damage the tendon fiber and make the pain more acute.
Taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs orally are treatment options recommended by doctors. These drugs reduce inflammation and stop pain immediately. In severe cases of pain, doctors recommend steroid injections at the affected site as a treatment option.
In spite of the above measures, if pain does not reduce, surgical treatment is advised. The affected tendon fibers are repaired in the surgical treatment.
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