Also known as lateral epicondylitis, tennis elbow is an injury caused by strain on the muscles in your forearm. Connected to your wrist, hand, and elbow, these muscles may get damaged by repeated contraction due to overuse, causing sharp pain and discomfort.
Getting To the Bottom of It
The most obvious cause of tennis elbow is, as the name suggests, the sport itself. Since tennis players use backhand and overhead movements repeatedly, they’re susceptible to this particular injury.
However, they’re not the only ones who may develop tennis elbow. In fact, similar repeated motions in other activities can also result in muscle strain associated with this condition. These include:
- Swimming
- Painting
- Gardening
- Using scissors and tools, such as screwdrivers
- Cutting up tough meat or food
- Excessive typing or use of the computer mouse
- Activities that require twisting, turning, and lifting of the wrist
Ouch—That Hurts!
So, how do you tell if you’ve got a bad case of tennis elbow? Well for starters, you’ll experience a shooting pain at the elbow joint which may stretch to your wrist and forearm. Patients describe it as a gradually spreading sensation, making its way from the elbow to surrounding areas. This can cause weakness at the affected site, making it difficult for you to perform simple tasks.
For instance, you may experience discomfort when gripping an object, turning a doorknob, or even shaking hands. What starts off as mild pain can quickly escalate into something bigger, making simple wrist and elbow movements painful. There may also be tenderness at the elbow joint.
No Pain, Plenty of Gain!
Don’t underestimate the discomfort caused by tennis elbow! If left unchecked, the pain tends to amplify, slowly robbing you of your ability to function smoothly.
First things first, get that pain checked out. Your doctor can determine whether or not you have tennis elbow, and recommend a suitable course of treatment for you to follow. This typically involves physiotherapy after crossing off any other issues that may have been causing the pain.
However, physiotherapy alone won’t do. In order to heal your damaged tendons, you need to reduce the repetitive strain exerted on them. This may mean that you temporarily take a break from a particular activity or at least make some readjustments to it.
For a quick healing and recovery process, the best option is to receive regenerative injection therapy. The stem cell injections used in these treatments are autologous, thereby cancelling the chances of infection, and promote the body’s natural healing process, which has quick results.
The skilled staff at RegenerVate Medical Injection Therapy in Toronto has effective stem cell treatment options for healing injuries related to the elbow, shoulder, and limbs.
Give us a call at 1 855 847-3975to get in touch!
