Specialists In:
Tennis Elbow / Golfers Elbow
What is Tennis / Golfers Elbow?
The tendons surrounding the elbow are susceptible to inflammatory conditions or what is known as elbow tendinopathy.
Tennis elbow and golfers elbow are conditions relating to the tendons on the outside(tennis) and inside (golf) of the elbow, Flexor Tendinitis relates to the tendon in the forearm that continues down the arm through to the hand.
What causes Tennis / Golfers Elbow?
The cause for all conditions is due to repetitive stress on the tendons surrounding the elbow and/or arthritis in the elbow joint.
Symptoms include pain, tenderness on examination and the progression to weakness in grip strength of racquet or club.
How is Tennis / Golfers Elbow diagnosed?
Your specialist will conduct a physical examination, and likely request an imaging scan such as an x-ray or MRI to help diagnose Tennis / Golfers Elbow.
Treatment and recovery
Conservative treatment – most elbow tendinopathies improve with rest and physiotherapy. In severe cases that do not improve with rest and prescribed exercises our elbow team would consider ultrasound guided steroid injection(s), extracorporeal shockwave therapy and other alternative remedies. Tendinopathies can be painful and not all patients respond in the same way, therefore a combination of treatment may be needed. Recovery period can be anything from 4 weeks- 3 months.
Surgery – in the most severe cases our elbow team would only consider surgical intervention if conservative treatment has not resolved the symptoms. Surgery would include excision around the affected tendon and suturing any damage to the tendon. Recovery time can range between 4 weeks to 3 months and would include brace/sling and physiotherapy.