Symptoms
The primary symptom of tennis elbow is pain, usually occurring on the outside of the elbow. The pain can sometimes also appear in the forearm and wrist. Other symptoms of tennis elbow can include:
- Burning or aches along outside of forearm and elbow
- Weak grip
- Swelling
- Tenderness
Causes
Tennis elbow typically happens when repetitive arm and wrist motions cause the tendons in your elbow to become overloaded. The leading causes are:
- Weak wrist and shoulder muscles
- Not warming up before racquet sports
- Using a racket that is too short
- Use of hand tools regularly
Treatments
Acute forms of tennis elbow may be self-treated with:
- Ice packs to reduce swelling and inflammation
- Anti-inflammatory pain relievers like ibuprofen
- Light stretching and strengthening exercises
Treatments for more chronic cases can include:
- Use of brace to immobilize the arm
- Steroid injections to reduce pain and swelling
- Surgery
