What Kind Of Doctor Treats Tennis Elbow?

What Is Tennis Elbow?

Tennis elbow is a condition that results in pain on the outer edge of your elbow. It typically flares up when you hurt the tendons that connect the elbow to forearm muscles. This pain will radiate throughout your arm, all the way from the elbow to the wrist. Without receiving any treatment, you may feel pain doing the simplest of tasks, such as driving.

What Causes Tennis Elbow?

Lateral epicondylitis is the technical name for “tennis elbow.” This condition does impact individuals who do not play tennis. The pain is caused by overuse and doing the same activity/motion over and over again. Repetitive motions create tiny tears in the tendon, resulting in pain. Individuals can develop tennis elbow doing these activities:

• Playing tennis.
• Painting.
• Gardening.
• Using a screwdriver.

Any other racket sports like squash and racquetball can cause tennis elbow. Using the wrong size of equipment can also be responsible for this condition.

Signs You Should See A Doctor For Tennis Elbow

Typically, tennis elbow can be cured over time with rest and at-home care. However, you should consider seeing a doctor if your symptoms persist. A doctor can then confirm your pain is the result of tennis elbow and nothing more. Sometimes, a steroid shot can reduce inflammation and increase healing time.

Check with your doctor if you are experiencing any of the following:

• Your pain worsens.
• There are deformities, such as bumps near your elbow.
• Your elbow feels warmer to the touch than the rest of your arm.
• You have trouble moving your arm.
• Your elbow appears to be a different color than the rest of your arm.

Diagnosing Tennis Elbow

In order to diagnose tennis elbow properly, an orthopedic specialist will evaluate the symptoms while examining your forearm and elbow.

You may require further imaging tests to assess the damage, which includes:

• MRI.
• CT Scan.
• X-ray.
• Musculoskeletal ultrasound.

Treatment Options For Tennis Elbow

There are a few things you can do at home to ease the pain, including:

• Avoiding any activities that cause pain.
• Resting your arm.
• Taking anti-inflammatories.
• Wearing a brace for support.
• Applying ice to the area for at least 10 minutes.
• Taking hot baths.

Pemf Therapy

Repetitive and overuse activities like the golf or tennis swing cause excessive pulling on the tendons on the elbow which leads to pain on the elbow joint itself. This causes the cells inside of the tendons in the arm to create scar tissue. The body reacts to pulling of tendons by laying down more scar tissue to help with tendons to become stable.

When the scar tissue continues to be strained and re-injured then no healing can take place. Overtime this causes more weakening of the elbow joint and even more pain. PEMF is an effective therapy that will aid the elbow joint to help the body itself to heal faster. PEMF therapy energizes the cells inside the body, which make up all of our tissues like tendons and ligaments, to a higher energy level.

Injections

It’s possible your doctor may suggest injecting platelet-rich plasma, Botox or another form of irritant into your tendon. Dry needling is a process in which a needle will pierce the damaged tendon in several spots. This can help to ease the pain of tennis elbow.

Surgery

If your symptoms see little to no improvement over a six to twelve month period, it may be time to consider surgery as an option. Surgery will remove the damaged tissue with a procedure performed through a large incision or via a few small incisions. Rehabilitation exercises will be needed following surgery.

How Long Does It Take For Tennis Elbow To Heal?

While several factors play a role in how long tennis elbow pain lasts, the tendon typically heals over a period of six months to one year. In some cases, tennis elbow has been known to persist for two-plus years.

You may need to take some preventative steps to ensure the pain doesn’t flare up again. Always warm up properly before playing tennis, giving your tendon time to stretch and become limber. Apply ice as soon as you are done playing the sport.