Tennis elbow (or lateral epicondylitis) generally starts out mild and gradually gets worse. Chronic suffers can have severe pain that rarely lets up. In chronic tennis elbow the pain is located at the outside of the elbow below the joint's bony prominence. The patient experiences pain if you reach and grip, lifting and carrying even a light object.

You don't need to be a tennis player to suffer lateral epicondylitis. In most cases "tennis elbow" is a result of repetitive movements that require the forearm muscles to be engaged. It is a common workplace or athletic injury.

Signs and symptoms that your pain may be tennis elbow:

  • Pain caused by lifting, bending the arm or grasping even light objects such as a coffee cup or a milk carton
  • Pain felt on or below the joint's bony prominence, can also be tender to the touch
  • There can be recurring pain on the outside of the upper forearm just below the bend of the elbow
  • Pain can radiate down the arm toward the wrist
  • Difficulty extending the forearm fully (because of inflamed muscles, tendons and ligaments)
  • Symptoms usually develop insidiously and tend to get progressively worse over time
  • Pain can occur when shaking hands, turning knobs, or lifting a suitcase
  • There can be a weakness of various muscles in shoulder, forearm, and wrist
  • There can be a decrease in range of movement and flexibility in the wrist.
  • Muscle spasms can occur in lower arm area
  • There is also what we refer to as "trigger point" pain. Meaning the patient will have pain if the doctor presses at the site where the tendon meets the bone.

Conditions currently being treated by Excellence Shock Wave Therapy:
Achilles tendonitis  |  Plantar Fasciitis (Heel spurs)  |  Shoulder tendonitis  |  Tennis elbow


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