Tennis Elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis)

Tennis Elbow is a very popular form of acute tendinitis that is most prevalent in tennis players that are over 40 and up to 50% of racket sports players develop this condition at some stage. It is a degenerative condition where tendon fibers attach the muscles of the forearm to the elbow. Sufferers generally complain of a severe, burning pain on the outside of the elbow, which gradually worsens and is exacerbated by gripping or lifting things.

Treatment

When treating Tennis elbow rest the area, apply cold compression for 10-20 minutes at a time for at least 3 times a day. Do this to the injured area for the first day up to 3 days. Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy may be used after the acute swelling is improved. Cold compression therapy will reduce initial inflammation and swelling and Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy increases blood flow through the area to speed the healing process. This can be further helped by the use of ultrasound applications over the affected area, as it reduces swelling quickly and increases blood flow to the area, helping the tendon heal more quickly.

The trick to any tendon injury is getting it to heal with minimal scar tissue formation and with as much realignment of tendon fibers as possible - something both Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy and therapeutic ultrasound are great at! Even with optimum healing there is always less elasticity in a previously injured tendon. The trick is to make sure you heal this the best you can, that way your chance of reinjury down the road is much lower than average.

Non invasive therapies indicated are ultrasound therapy and cold laser therapy  (K-laser).Both therapies are excellent blood flow therapies because they use stimulation of the deep tissue.

The more economical is ultrasound therapy and has been noted to have a quicker recovery time. Remember that the initial protocol is ICE (see above article)

Injection therapy is a low level invasive therapy, but like drugs will only mask the pain.