Tennis Elbow

[ereeves116]

Alright Doc, question for you.

I think I'm suffering from tennis elbow. I've got a lot of pain in my outer elbow and always feel like if I were to "pop" it, the pain would go away, but it doesn't need to "pop" at all. Although I do play tennis a lot recreationally, that's not the cause of it. I think it happened while I was weight lifting, either preacher curls or regular dumbbell curls. Any suggestions on how to make the pain go away?

I'd rather not have to see a physician unless I absolutely have to. Do you think ice or heat would help at all?

Thanks,
Edward

[Doc]

Similar topics have been covered in this section before.

Rest is important. Meaning avoiding the activities that caused the problem to allow it to heal.

Here are some things that can help.

Transverse friction massage, ice at first (1-3 days) for inflammation (20 minutes on 1 hour off), then moist heat later (several days later) for tissue healing (20 minutes on 1 hour off). Biofreeze (pain relieving gel).

Your elbow may need adjusted based on the fact you said it feels like it needs to pop.

What you're refering to is also called lateral epicondylitis. I had medial epicondylitis early this year that's tendonitis on the other side of the elbow. Took 4-6 weeks of therapy to get it better and another 8 weeks to heal.

If you did go for therapy this is what they would do:
Electrical muscle stim.
Ultrasound
transverse friction massage
tendonitis forearm wrap (you can buy these at Dunham's and possibly a drug store)