You have "tennis elbow." The funny thing is, unless you were volleying in your dreams, you've never even swung a racket. There's no mistaking that pain, though. Right outside of your elbow, the pain just radiates down into your forearm and wrist. Gosh, you hope you won that singles match you never played! It hurts to extend your wrist - kind of like when you were raking those leaves this past weekend...
Oh, boy. There's the culprit - the wrist! Tennis elbow is a term for an overuse injury commonly caused by playing tennis. However, many other activities can activate this condition, too. It is the repeated contraction of the forearm muscles that you use to straighten and raise your hand and wrist. So, even if you don't play tennis, but you paint, rake leaves, work with tools - even weight train or cook like the Iron Chef - you're at risk for a flare-up.
The elbow joint is the meeting place of three major arm bones: the upper arm bone (humerus) and the two forearm bones (radius and ulna). The bony bump on the outside (lateral side) of the elbow is called the lateral epicondyle. Like all joints, the elbow is held together by muscles, tendons, and ligaments.
Lateral epicondylitis - tennis elbow - involves the muscles and tendons of the forearm. Your forearm muscles extend your wrist and fingers. Your forearm tendons (extensors) attach muscles to bone. And guess where they attach? Yep - at the lateral epicondyle. Just gripping your coffee mug handle could cause a flashing, buzzing red warning light to go off (remember the age-old game called, "Operation?").
Overuse - repeating the same motions again and again - can lead to inflammation. In this case, the forearm tendons at your elbow are screaming because your poor forearm muscle is overworked because your wrist was over-involved (possibly improperly) in some activity because - well - you didn't know you could get tennis elbow without playing tennis!
To reduce inflammation, you will need to take a break from the offending activity (but remain active), apply ice for 15 minutes several times a day to the elbow area, wrap the upper forearm with an elastic bandage, and elevate your arm above heart level when you can. If your symptoms don't improve, visit your doctor.
To prevent future recurrence of tennis elbow, examine the activities that may have triggered it. Overuse is the common cause, but improper technique - or the way you use your arm - can be part of the problem, too. A flimsy wrist can't protect the forearm muscles and tendons.
Strengthening the forearm muscles is essential to maintaining wrist rigidity and stabilization during these activities. Performing wrist curls with moderate weight dumb bells at least twice a week is helpful. When you use your arm to lift weight, let the more powerful upper arm muscles do more of the work than the smaller forearm muscles. As with all physical activity, stretching before and after is crucial, too. By extending the forearm and flexing your wrist, you can gently apply pressure to the palm and fingers of your extended hand. When you turn that same hand downward, you can now apply pressure to the top of the hand. Hold each stretch at least 15-30 seconds.
Moderation has always been a tried and true practice. Implementing it, however, is foreign to many of us, especially in our routine activities. If you don't practice it, though, the red, buzzing light will blare, guaranteed.
Now, tennis anyone?
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