Tennis elbow, also known as lateral epicondylitis, is a condition that results from overuse of the muscles and tendons in the elbow. It is a type of tendinitis, which is swelling of the tendons that connect the muscles of the lower arm to the bone. The pain of tennis elbow occurs mainly where the tough, cord-like tissues of forearm muscles, known as tendons, attach to a bony bump on the outside of the elbow. Tiny tears and long-term swelling, known as inflammation, can cause the tendon to break down, leading to pain. Despite its name, most people who get tennis elbow dont play tennis. Repetitive arm movements can cause your forearm muscles to get fatigued, and a single tendon attaches this muscle to the bony bump on the outside of your elbow (lateral epicondyle). As your muscle gets tired, the tendon takes more of the load, leading to overloading, inflammation, and pain, known as tendinitis. Over time, this overloading can cause a degenerative condition known as tendinosis, which can then lead to tendon tearing.

Symptoms of tennis elbow include pain or burning on the outer part of your elbow, weak grip strength, and sometimes pain at night. Pain can spread into the forearm and wrist. The pain may get worse over weeks and months, and it tends to come on slowly. Activities that can cause tennis elbow symptoms include playing racket sports, especially using backhand, with poor form, using plumbing tools, painting, driving screws, cutting up foods for cooking, particularly meat, and using a computer mouse a lot. Less often, an injury or a condition that affects the bodys connective tissues causes tennis elbow.

Treatment of tennis elbow includes activity modification, ice, medicine, stretching, braces, and injections[...