You may have thought that tennis elbow was reserved for tennis stars and devoted athletes, but it turns out that tennis elbow is really an equal opportunity condition—it will impact anybody, sports pro or not. So if you’ve never picked up a tennis racket in your life, how exactly is it that you ended up with tennis elbow? Here’s your answer.

The Basics of Tennis Elbow

Tennis elbow is also known as lateral epicondylitis, and it is a very painful condition that occurs when the elbow has been overused. It earned its name as tennis elbow since it’s most prevalent among tennis players and other racquet sport players who rely on elbow movements every day.

When the elbow repeats the same motions over and over again, the tendons that join the forearm muscles on the outer part of the elbow become inflamed, and inflammation leads to pain and tenderness in that area.

Common Causes and Symptoms of Tennis Elbow

Other than playing tennis and other racquet sports, tennis elbow is likely to occur in painters, plumbers, and carpenters, as well as auto workers, cooks, and possibly butchers due to the repetitive arm motions involved in their jobs. Ages 30 to 50 witness the most occurrences of tennis elbow, though it can be found in a person of any age.

It is pretty easy to identify tennis elbow, since the elbow is rarely a painful part of the body otherwise. When the outer section of the elbow begins to burn or experience pain, combined potentially with weaker grip strength, tennis elbow is the most likely culprit. Most people are only impacted by tennis elbow in their dominant arm since it is used more.

Treating the Condition

The good news for athletes and non-athletes alike is that tennis elbow has readily available treatments and full recovery is possible. Up to 95 percent of patients are successfully using nonsurgical treatments like rest, anti-inflammatory medicine, physical therapy, and an elbow brace. For tennis elbow that does not respond to basic treatment, a simple surgery can be done to remove diseased muscle from the elbow and reattach healthy muscle to the bone.
A newer non-surgical treatment option is now platelet-rich plasma (PRP), which uses a patient’s own concentrated blood platelets to accelerate the body’s healing process.