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I don't play tennis!

16/ 5/2008

Q The doctor said I have tennis elbow. I have never played tennis in my life.

A And I have never met a tennis player with it! What it means is that there is a small area of inflammation which causes tenderness on the outside aspect of your elbow where there is a bony prominence.

All the muscles of the back of your forearm are attached there to a very small area of bone. Depending on how you use your arms and hands these muscles on the back of your forearm constantly pull at this small area of bone where the muscles are all anchored. Eventually this little area becomes inflamed and starts to hurt.

So what can you do about it?

Think what might be causing it. The kind of activities which bring it in are lifting and pulling type actions as these are actions where the muscles at the back of the forearm are being used to help.

For example, lifting boxes, crates or pulling something along. Try and change how you do it.

Speak to your employer about changing how you might carry out your job.

Physiotherapy can help and so can an injection of local anaesthetic and steroid into the tender area. But if you go back to what you were doing there is a high chance of it recurring.

It can take months to settle down.

One idea I once read about, which is not necessarily very practical, is to try and do things with your palms up and not down or facing the other one in the position of clapping hands.

That will take the pressure of that inflamed area and allow it to heal.