Tennis Elbow

Imagine waking up one morning with a slight pain in your elbow. You tell yourself it's no big deal, that it will go away on its own, and continue on with your normal everyday activities. But oddly, the pain doesn't go away and instead, continuously gets worse. Now you decide you need to rest your arm and manage for a few days brushing your teeth, writing, and handling food with your left hand. Then, you run into a friend who reaches out his right hand and you absentmindedly return the gesture. The two of you shake hands and suddenly, you experience excruciating pains shooting up your arm. This single moment of forgetfulness, followed by the seemingly long minutes of cowering over your arm, indicates that you have tennis elbow. Tennis elbow is an agonizing pain in the elbow that has distinct causes, symptoms, treatment plans, and preventative actions.
To better understand tennis elbow, it is helpful to understand the basic mechanics of the arm and elbow. The elbow is made up of three bones – the ulna, radius, and humorous. The radius and ulna are the two bones found in the forearm and the humorous is the only bone of the upper arm. Collectively, they form a hinge joint, which allows for flexion and extension of the arm. However, the point at which the radius and ulna meet forms a pivot joint, which allows the radius to rotate about the ulna and permits pronation and supination of the forearm (“Elbow Anatomy”). Ligaments of connective tissue hold the bones together and form a joint capsule, which encloses the joint and contains a lubricating fluid called synovial fluid (Conrad and Hooper 12). With the help of muscles, ligaments, and tendons, the elbow joint can bend and extend freely to allow movement of the arm.
On the lower end of the humorous, there are two knobs that serve as locations for muscle and ligament attachments – the medial epicondyle and the lateral epicondyle. Attached to the epicondyles are the medial and lateral collateral ligaments that hold the