Tennis Elbow

Some people think that Tennis Elbow is something you get if you play too much tennis...but that isn't always the case!

So what is Tennis Elbow? or Lateral Epicondylitis as we should call it?

Well, it is a very painful condition that causes pain around the outside of the elbow. It is often caused by overuse or repeated muscular action in the forearm near to the elbow joint. With Tennis Elbow you will probably experience pain on the outside of the elbow which can radiate down the length of the forearm when....

• Lifting or bending your arm
• Gripping small objects between your fingers
• Or when making twisting movements of the forearm away from a more neutral position

Extending the arm fully away from the torso can also be painful.

What can cause Tennis elbow?

As the name suggests it can sometimes be caused by playing tennis where the elbow joint is used repeatedly under strain and where the wrist has to maintain a strong grip. However you can also develop the condition from over use and over extension of the elbow using an input device at a computer. I often see people working with the arm they use for mouse work over extended and abducted from the torso and the weight of the arm pulling on the elbow joint can cause injury and inflammation near the lateral epicondyl on the outside of the elbow over prolonged use.

One Answer

Is to move from using a larger keyboard and then mouse on the outside of that keyboard which will cause the elbow to extend outwards with repeated flex of the elbow joint. Instead use a smaller keyboard with an alternative mouse solution placed in front of the user which will prevent movement of the elbow and keep the elbow and the shoulder in a more stable position across the torso.