Elbow Archives - Portable Physiotherapy Machine & Equipment- UltraCare PRO

Tennis Elbow: Symptoms, Reasons and Remedies!

by admin | Oct 14, 2019 | Elbow

Does your elbow hurt even at the slightest pressure or jerk? Has it become more often and none of the ointments is doing any good? Then you might have Tennis Elbow and you must take it seriously.

Considering its name, if you are thinking that it is some condition only related to the elbow of those who play tennis, then you must read our entire blog to know what is Tennis Elbow, what are the causes and how to get it treated.

Tennis Elbow
Clinically referred to as Lateral Epicondylitis, tennis elbow causes the outer part of the elbow sore and tender. It is a painful condition that develops due to the repetitive overuse of the forearm muscles and tendons around the elbow joint. Since tennis is all about this action, hence the name tennis elbow. However, this condition is not just limited to the athletes, if your job features excessive use of elbow like plumbing, painting, carpentry etc. then you too may develop it.

Symptoms of Tennis Elbow
● Radiating pain and tenderness from the outside of elbow into the forearm and wrist.
● Morning stiffness with persistent pain
● Soreness of the forearm muscles
● Pain while grasping/holding an object

Seek medical help if:
● Rest, ice and use of over-the-counter pain relievers don’t ease the pain and tenderness.
● The pain is hindering your daily activities
● You find difficulty in movements like shaking hands, lifting something etc.

Tennis Elbow Causes
Repeated contraction of the forearm muscles, can strain and put too much stress on the tendons, resulting into microscopic tears in the tendons.
● Sports like Tennis, Racquetball, Squash etc.
● Jobs like Carpentry, Typing, Painting

Other causes
● Despite the name, one may develop Tennis Elbow due to daily activities like:
● Using scissors, gardening
● Cutting tough food
● Swimming
● Sporting activities that involve high amounts of throwing
● Manual work that involves repetitive turning or lifting of the wrist

Tennis Elbow Treatments
Tennis Elbow is a condition that usually heals on its own all you need to do is to take a break from the activity that is causing your elbow strain.

1. Tennis elbow treatment at home

Rest – Even if it’s a minor pain, get complete rest as it will help the tears in your tendon to heal.

Medications – Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen, naproxen, or aspirin can be consumed to get tennis elbow pain relief. But since they can cause side effects, use them occasionally or unless your doctor says otherwise.

Strap – Wear an elbow strap to protect your injured tendon from further strain.

Tennis Elbow Exercises – Try some light tennis elbow stretching exercises so as to reduce stiffness and increase the flexibility of the forearm muscles. You can repeat it for 3-5 times a day.

Icing – Ice the injured area for 20-30 minutes every 3-4 hours for 2-3 days or until the pain subsides.

Other – Steroid injections, Botox and extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) are the other options available, but they fail to give long-term benefits.

Tennis Elbow Therapy – One of the best and long-term remedies for tennis elbow, is Physical therapy, as it stretches and strengthens muscles, especially of the forearm giving instant relief from pain and tenderness. You can either consult a therapist or the best get an Electrotherapy device and treat tennis elbow on your own at home. Such devices are handy, easy to operate and have a proven track record of treating tennis elbow naturally without any side effects.

2. Surgical Treatment

In some most severe cases, surgery remains as the only option to get rid of tennis elbow. In the procedure, the damaged section of the tendon usually is removed and the remaining tendon repaired. Although surgery holds a good success rate, the sad part is the recovery. It may take weeks to heal, plus several months of rehabilitation at home and physical therapy six weeks after surgery, for complete healing. The damage may worsen if there is tennis elbow pain after the surgery or if you start pushing yourself before it is completely healed. Hence, it is advisable to keep surgery as the last resort.

Elbow Discomforts, Causes and Solutions

by admin | Aug 11, 2019 | Elbow

There so much our elbow joint do in our daily routine. From dawn to dusk, our elbows are working constantly while picking things up, hugging, shaking hands, waving and so on. Now a sudden elbow pain strikes or you feel a minor discomfort, imagine how the rest of your day will be if the elbow doesn’t feel right. Terrible, isn’t it?

A pain, discomfort or an injury in our elbow joint can occur without any invitation. You might be unaware but our certain carelessness in our daily routine is the reason why the majority of us are complaining of elbow joint pain today. Then there are injuries which can worsen the functioning of the elbow, if not given timely care and treatment. Let’s see what are some of the common elbow discomforts, what causes them and what are the solutions that can help get over with it.

1) Tennis Elbow

The tennis-elbow is the one common injury that every sportsperson complain about once in a lifetime. Yes, even the God of Cricket, the Master Blaster, Sachin Tendulkar was once a victim of tennis elbow. The time period between 2004 to 2006 was like almost no cricket for the fans of the legendary batsman. He had sleepless nights feeling the pinch of injuries and could not even lift his son Arjun’s plastic bat. It took four-and-a-half months for the national icon to recover after the surgery of his tennis elbow. To know what is tennis elbow, its symptoms, reasons and home remedies for tennis elbow, click here.

2) Arthritis

There are certain types of arthritis like rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, gout etc., that can affect your elbow, triggering pain from elbow to your hand.

3) Golfer’s elbow

Known as medial epicondylitis, golfer’s elbow is a bit similar to tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis). It affects the inner parts of the elbow joint where the tendon that connects the elbow bone to the forearm muscles which enables the flexing of the wrist and fingers to get inflamed. Activities that involve repetitive motion or forceful gripping cause golfer’s elbow where the victim may feel a burning sensation in the elbow.

4) Trapped Nerves

Just like Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, even the nerves in your elbow joint can get squeezed causing sharp pain in the inner elbow which are termed as Cubital Tunnel Syndrome and Radial Tunnel Syndrome depending upon the affected nerve.

5) Injuries

Sprained elbow, elbow fracture, elbow dislocation, all these are common sports injuries or can happen anytime due to a fall or a blow which follows severe pain in the elbow and forearm, along with swelling, numbness and tingling in some cases, and/or an inability to straighten or move the arm.

Elbow Pain Home Remedies

For any discomfort in your elbow, you can always start with R.I.C.E (rest, ice, compress, elevate) treatment which will stimulate the blood flow and help to relieve the pain to some extent.
If the pain persists, you can make use of elbow splints to give extra support to your elbow muscles.
Under expert guidance, you can practice some tennis elbow stretches or elbow exercises to minimize the stiffness of muscles and tendons that surround the elbow joint and improve muscle flexibility.
If nothing helps, get an electrotherapy device and treat your elbow naturally at the comfort of your home. The combination of therapeutic ultrasound and TENS in it can ease and treat any type of elbow pain without any harmful effects.