Tennis elbow is a common diagnosis, especially for people whose lingering pain is associated with vigorous activity. But not every kind of elbow pain is tennis elbow, and not every case of tennis elbow arises from a rigorous day of athletics.
As this article lucidly explains, tennis elbow can result from a number of kinds of motion and impact. What they have in common is a specific etiology and location, namely the tendons of the elbow:
When forces are applied that exceed the limits of the stretch, a tear occurs. The tear may be a minor one; a Grade 1 strain where little collagen is torn and the body’s repair process rebuilds the damage without scarring. Or it could be a more major tear, where the healing process requires laying down new collagen fibers, building new bridges and forming new matrix molecules.
Whatever the severity of the injury, it’s essential to seek medical care from an orthopedic specialist.
Tennis elbow is one of the many elbow issues that I treat in my San Diego medical practice, along with painful conditions such as ulnar nerve impaction, cellulitis and infections. If you want the best approach for any type of elbow pain in San Diego, call my office today.
