The most common cause of elbow joint pain is epicondylitis, often referred to as “tennis elbow”. Epicondylitis presents as pain in the lateral aspect of the elbow at the level of the bony prominence called the humeral epicondyle, just where the area of anatomical origin of the wrist extensor muscles is located. These muscles are responsible for maintaining the wrist in a position of slight extension and participate in all manual activities that we develop in our day to day.
That is why epicondylitis generates a considerable functional limitation due to the appearance of pain when performing activities that require manual effort.
Manual effort, main cause of epicondylitis
The main causal factor of epicondylitis is repetitive manual effort tasks. Thus, occupational activities such as work in an industrial assembly line or related to the constant handling of tools (mechanics, carpenters, gardeners ….) are the most susceptible population to suffer from epicondylitis. Even so, the prolonged use of the mouse or computer keyboard or the realization of sports like tennis or field hockey, are also frequent causes.
Our locomotor system has mechanisms for repairing small injuries called “microtraumatisms” that occur during the functioning of its muscular, tendon and ligament structures.
Epicondylitis appears when our manual activities exceed the self-repair capacities of the tissues by repetitive and sustained mechanical stress at the level of the epicondylar insertion of the wrist extensors. This causes a structural alteration of the affected tissue and the appearance of pain.
How to prevent tennis elbow
Taking short breaks during work or sports activities to stretch is a good way to prevent epicondylitis.
Once the pain has already started, its initial treatment consists of rest and physiotherapy. Aspects to keep in mind are technical improvement in the sports context and ergonomics of the workplace in the work context.
The resolution of the painful symptomatology of epicondylitis is not quick, being usual the reduction of pain in a progressive way in a period of between 3 and 6 months. When the painful symptomatology and functional limitation persist beyond 6 months, surgical treatment should be considered.
Effective remedies for tennis elbow
Treatment in this location with infiltrations of corticosteroid-derived substances is currently discouraged, since they temporarily eliminate the pain but do not resolve the structural problem of the tissue and may even cause tendon or skin complications.
Infiltrations with platelet-rich plasma (derived from the patient’s own blood) have been shown to be effective and without associated complications, and should be considered as an alternative prior to surgery when there is no progressive improvement with the initial treatment.
Finally, surgical treatment can currently be performed arthroscopically in a minimally invasive manner by means of only two holes in the skin. Before indicating surgical treatment, a good medical examination and imaging tests must be performed to rule out other associated lesions (articular cartilage, synovitis, compression of the posterior interosseous nerve). When it is an isolated epicondylitis, the arthroscopic technique can be considered as the technique of choice.
Epicondylitis: What is tennis elbow?
The most common cause of tennis joint pain is epicondylitis, often referred to as “tennis elbow”. Epicondylitis presents as pain in the lateral part of the elbow at the level of the osseous prominence known as the humeral epicondyle, just where the area of anatomical origin of the extensor muscles of the elbow is located. These muscles are in charge of maintaining the cannula in a position of light extension and participate in all the manual activities that we carry out in our daily life.
That is why epicondylitis generates a considerable functional limitation due to the appearance of pain when performing activities that require manual effort.
Manual strain, main cause of epicondylitis
The main causal factor of epicondylitis is repetitive manual strain tasks. Thus, occupational activities such as working in an industrial assembly line or those related to the constant handling of machinery (mechanics, carpenters, gardeners ….) are the most susceptible population to suffer from epicondylitis. Also, the prolonged use of the mouse or computer keyboard or the practice of sports such as tennis or hockey, are also frequent causes.
Our locomotor system has mechanisms for repairing small injuries called “microtraumatisms” that occur during the functioning of its muscular, tendon and ligament structures. Epicondylitis appears when our manual activities exceed the self-repair capacities of the tissues by a repetitive and sustained mechanical stress at the level of the epicondylar insertion of the extensors of the elbow. This causes a structural alteration of the affected tissue and the onset of pain.
How to prevent tennis strain
Taking short breaks during work or sports activities to stretch is a good way to prevent epicondylitis.
Once it appears, the initial treatment consists of rest and physiotherapy. Aspects that must be taken into account are the technical improvement in the sports context and the ergonomics of the workplace in the work context.
The resolution of the painful symptomatology of epicondylitis is not quick, being usual the reduction of pain progressively in a period between 3 and 6 months. When painful symptomatology and functional limitation persist beyond 6 months, surgical treatment should be considered.
Definitive remedies for tennis elbow disease
Treatment in this location with infiltrations of corticosteroid-derived substances is nowadays discouraged, since they temporarily eliminate the pain but do not solve the structural problem of the tissue and can even cause tendon or skin complications. Infiltrations with platelet-rich plasma (derived from the patient’s own blood) have been shown to be effective and without associated complications, and should be considered as an alternative prior to surgery when there is no progressive improvement with the initial treatment.
Finally, surgical treatment can currently be performed via arthroscopy in a minimally invasive manner with only two holes in the skin. Before indicating surgical treatment, a good medical examination and imaging tests must be performed to rule out other associated lesions (articular cartilage, synovitis, posterior interosseous nerve compression). When it is an isolated epicondylitis, the arthroscopic technique can be considered the technique of choice.