Tennis elbow (also known as epicondylitis) is an overuse-related irritation or inflammation of the tendon insertion of the long hand and finger extensor muscles on the outside of the elbow. If the inside of the elbow is affected, it is called golfer's elbow. The group of 35 to 50 year-olds is most frequently affected.
The clinical picture belongs to the enthesiopathies, an umbrella term for inflammatory diseases of the fascia, tendons and tendon attachments to the bone, the bursa and joint cartilage.
Possible symptoms
Pressure pain at the outer elbow bone
Additional pain when rotating the forearm, when stretching the wrist, as well as
Pain when lifting objects
In most cases, the pain in the elbow radiates over the outside (extensor side) into the hand; likewise
pain occurs when clenching the fist and squeezing the hand.
Possibly also increasing pain with passive flexion of wrist and fingers,
Lack of strength in the affected arm
Pain starts suddenly, for example after overloading
Causes
Especially after monotonous strain (such as screwing, hammering, ironing, knitting, suitcase pulling, PC work) or due to incorrect playing technique (for example, incorrect strain when serving in the context of playing tennis or golf). Repeated overuse and minor injuries lead to inflammation in the fascia and degenerative changes in the muscle tendon attachment to the bone (attachment tendinosis).
Because this area has poor circulation, untreated conditions can easily become chronic.
