Tennis / Golf Elbow

Tennis / Golf Elbow, Causes, Treatment

What is a tennis / golf elbow?
These diseases are inflammation of the tendons of the muscles that attach to the elbow. In the case of a tennis elbow, the tendons on the outer part of the elbow are inflamed, while in the case of a golf elbow, they are inflamed on the inner part of the elbow. Do you have to be a tennis player or a golfer to get these diseases? Absolutely not. This is an occupational disease of plumbers, painters, carpenters, gardeners, people who work on computers, some musicians, such as violinists, dentists, surgeons, all in all with people with frequent use of forearms and hands in their work. The disease is named after the frequency of occurrence in tennis players, where 30% of tennis players received a tennis elbow at some point in their career. In 75% of cases it occurs on the dominant arm.

CAUSES OF DISEASE

Around the elbow, most of the muscles that control the movements of the forearm and hand join. Our body is designed to distribute pressure evenly, but our activities generally upset that balance, so movements that are performed for an unusually long time, combined with high intensity movements, lead to a problem called tennis elbow. A great example is a kick in tennis called backhand, but movements outside of tennis are no less dangerous, movements such as painting the wall, mixing mortar, digging holes, cleaning windows, etc. It is important to note that people who have been engaged in sudden but strong physical activity (for example, carrying heavy shopping bags for a long time) get sick more easily, since their tendons and muscles are unprepared for such efforts, unlike people who perform these actions more often. .

SYMPTOMS
The symptoms are specific and are related to:

• Pain and sensitivity to touch on the outer part of the elbow (tennis elbow) or the inner part of the elbow (a golf elbow which we must say is 7-10 times rarer than a tennis elbow). The pain can spread along the forearm all the way to the hand.
• There is usually a slight pain that lasts for several weeks and during that time it becomes stronger and stronger. It can also be a sharp, sudden and strong pain, mostly in the middle of a sudden and strenuous movement. The pain can be mild and occur for some time after the activity, it can last during the activity and intensify or it can be constant and strong so disables activity.
• The specificity of this disease is a problem with the activity of the hand, movements such as grabbing a cup, turning the handle, handling, typing on the keyboard, vacuuming, washing dishes become very painful and uncomfortable.
• It can, but rarely causes joint swelling, so in case of swelling, other benefits and diagnoses should be considered

TREATMENT

The key to treatment is to start treatment as soon as possible , preferably within the first week of symptoms. It doesn’t happen that often because people ignore that small and tiny elbow pain that they hope will go away on its own. After a few weeks, the disease enters a chronic phase and treatment is much more difficult and lasts longer.

The first and foremost is to relieve the hand from physical activity that irritates the tendons (grabbing heavier objects and lifting them, unscrewing, turning, typing on the keyboard), ie. maximum rest as well as the use of special orthoses for tennis elbow. The task of these orthoses is to keep the elbow in the correct position in relation to the hand, and thus maximally relieve the inflamed tendons, while the fingers are free.
In the first phase of treatment, cryotherapy is applied, in the form of cryomassage 3-4 times a day, for the first 3 days, 10 minutes before the onset of pain. After that, other types of physical therapy are included, such as ultrasound , electrotherapy (INDIBA ACTIVE CELL), magnetotherapy (SALUS-TALENT), kinesitherapy therapy, kinesitherapy and the use of special orthoses for tennis elbow. Static exercises are done to prevent muscle atrophy due to rest.

In the second phase, dynamic exercises are included, with the aim of strengthening all weakened structures of the elbow and arm and thus returning to daily and normal functioning.

Special care should be taken after healing because the disease tends to return. If the activities that led to the tennis elbow have to take place, it is necessary to “warm up” the hand for at least 5 to 10 minutes with gentle movements and stretching before starting the activity. It is also necessary to rest your hand often. Stretching and muscle strengthening exercises should be performed regularly.

LET YOUR CHOICE FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEM BE WITH US! ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS AND EFFECTIVE THERAPY ARE THE ONLY WAY TO SOLVING THE PROBLEM, THE WAY WE ARE GUIDED TO. WE USE MODERN METHODS OF PHYSICAL THERAPY, MODERN APPARATUS LIKE SALUS-TALENT, INDIBA-ACTIVE CELL AND WE HAVE EXPERIENCED AND EDUCATED PHYSIOTHERAPISTS WHO WILL CHOOSE THE RIGHT KINESIGA THERAPY. WE OFFER VARIOUS ORTHOTIC AIDS, IN THIS CASE AND TENNIS ELBOW AIDS, which greatly facilitate and speed up healing.

SALUS-TALENT (https://www.fizioaktiv.co.rs/salus-talent-pro/)

Electromagnet of high magnetic induction which has an excellent analgesic effect on the joints, dispersion effect on the swelling, so it proved to be extremely effective in problems of pain in the spine, hip, knee, elbow… This magnet is the first electromagnet that is individually dosed according to the patient’s feeling. that, unlike standard magnets, therapy on this magnet can make the patient feel from mild vibrations to very strong muscle contractions. The analgesic effect, ie the effect of reducing pain, is felt very quickly, sometimes even after the first treatment.

INDIBA-ACTIVE CELL (https://www.fizioaktiv.co.rs/indiba-proionik-sistem/)

This is an extremely pleasant therapy for the patient. It is done in the form of a massage while the free electrode is in the therapist’s hand. It has the best effect on soft tissues such as muscles, tendons, ligaments,… It has shown itself perfectly in reducing muscle spasm, ie. muscle relaxation, elimination of swelling, tendon recovery and has the fastest analgesic effect so that the pain stops during the first treatment. In lumbar syndrome, we most often use it as an introductory procedure.