Tennis Elbow Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Your elbow joint consists of three bones – your upper arm bone (humerus), and forearm bones (radius and ulna). Muscles, ligaments, and tendons hold these three bones together. Tennis elbow occurs when the tendons that join your forearm muscles to the bones become inflamed. As the muscles and tendons are overused from repeating the same motions over and over again, they start to become damaged, resulting in pain and tenderness on the outside of the elbow. Symptoms of tennis elbow tend to develop gradually. Pain will usually begin as mild and slowly get worse. The pain of tennis elbow will occur primarily around the bony bump on the outside of your elbow, called the lateral epicondyle. You may experience tenderness, burning, weakness of the joint, and increased pain with resistance. If you begin to experience elbow pain and symptoms similar to tennis elbow, try at-home care with the RICE Treatment and Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen and aspirin. If your pain won’t go away or gets worse, it may be time to make an appointment with your orthopedic specialist. The Center Orthopedic & Neurosurgical Care & Research - https://www.thecenteroregon.com/ The Center is a leader in the diagnosis and treatment of all musculoskeletal conditions, with ten locations throughout Central Oregon. Founded in 1958 as Bend Orthopedic and Fracture, the practice continues to be driven by leading best practice and innovation. With a staff of 24 physicians and 22 mid-level providers, our expertly trained specialists in orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, physical medicine and rehabilitation, sports medicine, and occupational medicine, The Center is here to keep our community healthy, active, and strong.