Pain is one of the biggest discomfort humans could ever have. When a particular part of the body is in pain, the brain goes haywire and everything seems irregular and out of place. It places us on a level where we do not want to do a thing without getting rid of the pain first. An example of such pain is the tennis elbow, also known as lateral epicondylitis. And for this kind of pain, you can seek shock wave therapy tennis elbow.
We would be discussing the condition, tennis elbow, its causes and so many more in this article.
What is a tennis elbow?
Tennis elbow is a condition – usually chronic rather than acute, that causes pain around the elbow. This condition is mostly seen in tennis players or athletes, hence the name, however, is not limited to them alone. It happens when the muscles of the forearm, near the elbow, have undergone an overuse or have been used for the same action repeatedly.
The pain can sometimes be noticed outside of the elbow and it may travel down the forearm. You might notice this pain when you try to lift a heavy object, turn a doorknob or open a door, or when twisting your forearm and gripping objects.
Causes
As said earlier, tennis elbow is usually caused by overuse of the muscles of the elbow. When strained, these muscles can have tiny tears or even become inflamed which then results in a bony lump just outside the elbow and is painful, of course.
Treatment
Tennis elbow gets better with time by limiting the use of that particular arm, which also means you will not be able to go around your normal daily activities.
However, to curb this, some treatments may help alleviate the symptoms and help you with a speedy recovery.
- The first is to stop any activity that might aggravate the pain.
- You can hold a cold compress to the area for a few minutes several times a day, it will help ease the pain a little.
- Taking analgesics such as acetaminophen may help you with the pain. Also, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen, diclofenac, and piroxicam can help with both pain and inflammation as long as you do not have any history of ulcers and you are careful as they too may cause ulcerative conditions of the gastrointestinal tract.
- You could as well try physiotherapy.