Tennis Elbow Doesn’t Just Happen to Tennis Players
Regardless of whether you’re a professional athlete, hairdresser or stay-at-home-mom, if you’re experiencing pain that radiates from your elbow into your forearm or wrist, you might be suffering from a condition known as epicondylitis or more commonly referred to as tennis elbow.
Although this painful condition is associated with athletes, only a very small percentage of people—around 5%—diagnosed with tennis elbow actually play tennis. In fact, it’s an overuse injury that occurs more often in occupational areas requiring a similar type of repetitive motion.
Tennis elbow occurs when the tendons in your elbow become overloaded by repeated movements of wrist and arm. Symptoms include pain, swelling, bruising, tenderness and in some cases numbness and weakness in hands.
What Are Some Tennis Elbow Treatments?
In many cases, small adjustments can adequately treat tennis elbow, such as:
- Ice
- Rest
- Over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medication
- Avoiding repetitive activities that might have caused the condition
- Elbow brace
- Steroid injections
- Physical therapy
However, if the pain continues beyond 6-12 months, it may be time to consult with an orthopedic professional to see if surgery is a viable option to alleviate tennis elbow pain.
Surgical Treatments for Tennis Elbow
Surgery for tennis elbow involves removing the degenerated tendon tissue to ease pain and allow increased elbow mobility. Depending on the severity and other specifics of the case, tennis elbow surgery is done either by open or arthroscopic surgery.
In open surgery, the surgeon makes an incision above the bone on the side of your elbow. Through this incision, the surgeon removes the damaged section of tendon and reattaches the healthy part back to the bone. The physician might also remove a tiny piece of bone in your elbow to provide increased blood flow to the area and promote faster healing.
With arthroscopic surgery, the surgeon will make a few tiny cuts in the affected area of your elbow inserting a tiny camera and very small instruments which will be used to remove the damaged section of your tendon.
In both procedures, the opening is closed with sutures or staples and bandaged, and you should be able to go home the same day.
If you’re ready to kick your tennis pain to the curb, contact Orthopedic Specialty Institute for your consultation at (954) 866-9699 or info@192.168.100.2 today!