What Causes Tennis Elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis)? 1/9

#tenniselbow #lateralepicondylitis
Find out what causes tennis elbow, watch the other videos in the tennis elbow series to learn how to heal it!


If you have tennis elbow you’ve probably wondered what happened to cause so much pain, especially if you’re not a tennis player. I’m Doctor AJ, let talk about what tennis elbow is and what causes it so you know what you can do to get it better.

Tennis elbow, also known at lateral epicondylitis, is an injury of a tendon that attaches to the outer part of your elbow. This tendon is called the common extensor tendon and is attached to multiple muscles in the forearm that are involved in grip and extending the wrist. Tennis elbow is an overuse injury that happens with repetitive activities and motions of the wrist. It’s called tennis elbow because it’s so common in tennis players. About 50% of tennis players end up getting tennis elbow. In tennis you are gripping the racket and repeatedly extending the wrist when you swing, especially in the backhand swing. When this happens over and over again it can put more strain on the tendon than it is ready to handle and it becomes strained, and gets micro tears. It then becomes inflamed, swollen and painful. After a few weeks the inflammation goes away and it’s then a degenerative condition meaning the tendon continues to break down and not fully heal. It gets thicker and stiffer and stuck in a state of repeated partial tearing and partial healing.
It’s not just tennis that causes this, it’s anything that involves repetitively gripping and extending the wrist like using a wrench, screwdriver, paintbrush, kitchen utensils or other similar activities.

Most cases of tennis elbow will heal within a few months but many become chronic and can last for years. Tendons don’t have very good blood flow, so sometimes the body struggles to heal from tennis elbow.

Luckily there are ways to help your body heal, things that help improve blood flow, improve strength and stimulate a healing response. One of the easiest things you can do to heal your tennis elbow are eccentric exercises that strengthen the tendon in a way that relieves pains and helps it heal. For the specific exercises check out my other videos on tennis elbow. Make sure to subscribe and have a great day!