Tennis elbow
Do you play tennis a lot? Exercise is generally good for our body. Too much exercise or overtraining however can cause some problems. Tennis elbow -or known as lateral epicondylitis- is one of several overuse injuries that can affect your elbow. The outer part of the elbow becomes painful and tender. Playing too much tennis is one cause of tennis elbow (hence the name)— but many other common activities can cause tennis elbow, too.
Tennis elbow can be caused by chronic stress on the tissues that attach the forearm muscles to the elbow area or sudden strain on the forearm.
Signs and symptoms. You would feel pain on the outer part of elbow. Weakening grip is also part of the signs. You particularly feel the pain when twisting the hand and arm, as in using a screwdriver or playing tennis.
Prevention. As you learn that tennis elbow is essentially an overtraining problem you can take prevention measures as follows:
- Don't play sports excessively without a proper break and rest periods
- Develop your strength gradually by doing forearm conditioning exercises
- Warm up gradually and completely before participating in sports--particularly before competition.
- Use a tennis-elbow strap when you resume normal activity after treatment.
