Treatment for Tennis Elbow and How it Affects People
Tennis elbow owes its name to the fact that tennis players usually suffer from it due to poor backhand technique or as a result of insufficient warm-up. In this way, all sports involve the use of the arms, and activities such as screwing, hammering, drilling, painting walls, uninterrupted use of the keyboard, holding scissors, gardening, doing construction, or dental work can generate this pathology. Other cases – less common – are due to occasional incidents such as taking a heavy hit, or experiencing a definite event as the initiator of the pathology.
The Reason
Although there is usually no history of an acute traumatic episode, hours of exposure to a repeated movement, there are times when patients arrive at the consultation with discomfort due to a specific event that they do not remember, and that, ultimately, was what caused them pain. It is frequent that, after a while, they comment on things like ‘now that I remember correctly, the other day I moved a piece of furniture or ‘could this be related to the fact that I lifted a very heavy suitcase?’
Progressive Pain
The main symptom is the pain of highly variable intensity on the outside of the elbow and sometimes radiating to the forearm. It usually affects the arm of the dominant hand and the symptoms are exacerbated when the person uses their hand or wrist and returns to the activity that triggered or maintains the condition. It is the flexion and extension of the wrist that produces discomfort in the elbow, causing pain when lifting weights or performing a movement such as turning a handle, shaking hands to say hello, or having a cup of coffee. Whether the pain is constant or only related to movement will depend on each patient.
The Evaluations
First, the patient’s history, his medical, work, and/or sports history, and the characteristic signs and symptoms of the physical examination are evaluated. Then an imaging study is requested since they are important to corroborate the diagnosis. An elbow X-ray is common in the vast majority of patients to rule out other possible diagnoses such as a bone problem, a cyst, or a tumor. On the other hand, ultrasound and/or magnetic resonance imaging show the alteration of the tendon insertion. With these, it is possible to see the degree of inflammation and the eventual rupture of the tendon that can be of different degrees.
Although it is an annoying pathology and can be prolonged for up to a year, it does not require major surgeries or ends in elbow prostheses. To achieve a complete recovery, the most important thing is that patients understand the essence of the pathology. There is no one act that generates total pain relief, but rather, it is the sum of details that will lead to recovery. You can look for a good and trustworthy orthopaedic surgeon in Singapore and get your appointment to continue the next steps.
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Self-Help Tips
As initial treatment measures, rest is recommended as well as the application of local cold and decreased activity that caused or maintains the condition. It is advisable to take anti-inflammatory medication, or pain killers and use a support band specially designed for tennis elbow. This is worn for six to eight hours a day and should be removed at night.
To rest, the most important thing is to stop using the affected tendon and elbow. Apply cold compresses for 10 minutes every two hours to reduce pain. Wearing a special bandage to restrict the forces reaching the tendon is helpful. This prevents the pathology from returning and reduces pain.
Prevention
It is best to prevent orthopedic issues before they start or get worse. Warm up the arm with gentle movements before doing any type of activity. Do not repeat the same action for long periods. Take regular breaks. If you have any discomfort, consult your doctor immediately. Avoid the activity that caused the pain and switch to another. Do not play sports if there is a pain in the arm. Avoid abruptly returning to the activity that caused the pathology once you have recovered from the pain. Those who regularly do racket sports seek professional advice. Practice exercises are given by an expert to strengthen the tendon of the arm. Elongation and strengthening of the forearm muscles are important.
Conclusion
Physical therapy, kinesiology, ultrathermy, and ultrasound are highly suggested. Although a significant percentage of patients improve with the aforementioned measures, there is a group in which the pain is maintained since the pathology is more intense. In these cases, it is possible to perform an infiltration with corticosteroids. However, sometimes this only generates a temporary relief of three months. Finally, there is a percentage of around 8 to 10%, which will persist with discomfort despite all of the above. It is for these patients that a surgical procedure is indicated. With these tips, you can learn how to treat orthopedic pain and get better.