Tennis elbow may have the following symptoms:
- Point tenderness on the outside of the elbow
- Pain extending from the elbow down the forearm when extending the wrist and fingers
- Weakness when extending the wrist and fingers
What Causes Tennis Elbow?
Acute tennis elbow is caused by a prolonged episode of wrist and finger extension, like holding a tennis racket or typing, where the activity continues into fatigue and beyond. As the activity continues, the muscle tendons of the elbow experience swelling and wear against the bones of the elbow and do not get a chance to recover before becoming damaged and inflamed.
Chronic tennis elbow is where the accute episodes repeat frequently, over 6 months or more, causing persistent elbow pain and ongoing impact on your day to day life.
Sports Injuries Causing Tennis Elbow
Tennis is the obvious sport responsible for causing tennis elbow, however, racket sports of all kinds such as squash, badminton and ping pong may cause tennis elbow if the activity is prolonged for long enough. The heavier the object being hit against the racket, the quicker the onset of the condition.
Workplace Injuries Causing Tennis Elbow
Painters, plasterers, capenters and also office workers who have poor ergonomics while typing commonly experience tennis elbow. Cooks and butchers, who are lifting heavy pans and meat cleavers, frequency chopping, cutting, grating or stirring as part of their job can also experience tennis elbow due to the where the weight and frequency of manipulating such items.