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What is Tennis Elbow and Symptoms of Tennis Elbow

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Tennis elbow is the condition which occurs when the muscles of the elbow which connect to the muscle of the forearm wear and tear and suffer injury.

Your elbow is a hinge joint. The strong muscles and tendon of the upper arm meets the delicate muscles and tendons of the forearm to create the elbow. With the help and aid of the tendons your arms can flex or can extend the forearm. It can also rotate the radius to allow you to turn your hand palm-side up.

The upper arm also contain knuckle like protrusion called as epocondyles. These bony knobs serve as points of attachment for the tendons that connect to the forearm muscles. If the tendons which connect the lateral epicondyles to the arm rip then it is called as tennis elbow. If the tendons which connect to the medial epicondyles rip, then it is called as golfers elbow.

The primary difference between the two?

With tennis elbow, the tendons that attach to your extensor muscles, like the Extensor Carpi Radialis Brevis (ECRB), suffer damage. With regards to the golfer elbows the tendons which connect to your flexor muscles are the culprit.

What are the symptoms of Tennis Elbow?

If you have tennis elbow, then you may notice the following symptoms:

  • Pain on the outside of the arm, above the lateral epicondyle on the humerus.
  • Morning stiffness in the elbow, arm, or wrist
  • Sore forearm muscles
  • Loss of grip strength in the hands
  • Difficulty rotating the radius (or forearm)
  • Pain while straightening out the elbow, shaking hands, forming a fist, or performing other movements associated with elbow extension or wrist rotation

Do these symptoms sound like the ones you possess, if you do then this is considered as tennis elbow. Mostly tennis players are affected by such injuries but it isn’t just athletes who suffer from such problems. Anyone who works at jobs which require hand extension can experience this set of problems.

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