What is tennis elbow? And what can you do about it?

Tennis elbow may be a specific injury that just happened or chronic; a constant ache with any movements of your hand, wrist and arm. It is a very painful condition. If you have or have had tennis elbow, you know exactly what I'm talking about. The pain can be felt in the lateral elbow joint. Medically it's called a lateral epicondylitis. The extensor muscles come together to form tendons and attach to the elbow joint. This is how your wrist extends up and your forearm rotates. These muscles are very important for function of your forearm movements. The tendon has a sheath around it which becomes inflamed. The tendon may also sustain microtears. This is very, very painful.

It is called tennis elbow is because the extensor muscles that are affected are the same muscles you would use to backhand a ball in tennis. You can get tennis elbow without playing tennis from a repetitive injury like using a screwdriver or trimming a bush. An example of a repetitive injury would be putting together an item from IKEA! Lots of twisting. The dresser that took all day, you felt fine when you finished, however, the next day you feel the pain with every motion. 

In the attached video, I give some directions for doing a light cross-fiber massage with some trigger point therapy. I like to use Chill Relief Cream for this type of injury. It has MSM which is good for inflammation and joint pain. The menthol gives a nice cooling effect. And of course, the Wintergreen essential oil is a nice touch and gives it a pleasant aroma. The consistency of this cream is perfect for massage.