Tennis elbow is a widespread complaint that is not only due to the sport that gives it its name. In addition to tennis players, other risk groups can also suffer from this tendon insertion disorder. It then requires more than just relief and rest for the muscles.   

You don't play tennis, but you still recognise the symptoms of tennis elbow (lateral epicondylalgia) or tennis elbow. This is pain that occurs above the outer elbow and can be provoked by gripping or other stresses on the wrist. In addition, the pain often leads to a weakness in grip strength. Although the name may suggest otherwise, tennis elbow is a widespread complaint that has nothing to do with tennis. 

It's not just tennis players who are affected. In addition to tennis players, manual labourers and even smokers have an increased risk of suffering from tennis elbow. Younger people between the ages of 35 and 54 in particular tend to develop tennis elbow. 

What causes tennis elbow? 

Why it particularly affects tennis players, manual labourers and smokers is due to the similar use of the muscles around the elbow, which all groups put a lot of strain on. This is because the cause of the complaints is often an overloading of the wrist extensors. These have their bony origin in the upper, outer elbow. If the tendon insertions are overstretched, this can lead to small tears and inflammation and therefore pain. 

However, current research also shows that this symptom is multifactorial. This means that it is not just the extensor tendon that is responsible for the pain. Rather, a complex of changes in the pain system, the muscle tendons and impairments of the motor system play a role in tennis elbow. Tennis elbow is therefore a symptom that we should consider holistically and in the long term. 

Does tennis elbow go away on its own?  

A little rest - then the tennis elbow will disappear on its own? Even if short-term relief of the wrist extensors can be helpful in the acute phase to alleviate pain, rest should not remain the long-term therapeutic approach. Exercises such as stretching and training the wrist extensors are much more important in order to reduce pain and improve resilience.

This is how we proceed with tennis elbow

Properly addressed and with a normal course of this symptom, most patients should feel a clear improvement after one year. However, up to 30% of patients can still have symptoms after more than a year. This is another reason why a visit to a physiotherapist is recommended to prevent incorrect treatment and thus chronic development. This is because those affected should be well informed about the pain so that they can better understand the symptoms and integrate suitable exercises into their everyday lives. A physiotherapist can also use manual therapy effectively for short-term relief, as can injections of cortisone. However, repeated use of cortisone can lead to porosity of the tendons. Therefore, in our opinion, this is only an option in extreme cases.