What is Tennis Elbow
"Lateral Epicondylitis", “Pickleball Elbow”
Tennis elbow, AKA lateral epicondylitis, or now also commonly referred to as “pickleball elbow”, is a repetitive strain injury that involves the tendons that attach to the outside of the elbow. These tendons connect the muscles in your forearm to the bone, and are affected every time you are gripping, extending your wrists, lifting your hands, and twisting your forearm. When these tasks are performed with a high amount of repetition and not enough recovery time in between, it can become painful.
Even though the name “lateral epicondylitis” suggests it is an inflammatory condition (itis at the end of a word usually signals inflammation), tennis elbow is generally not considered an inflammation problem. While the usual treatment for inflammation of rest, ice, and anti-inflammatory medication may ease the pain, it does not truly resolve the underlying issue.
Tennis elbow is actually more of a load capacity and strength issue. If you are performing a lot of tasks that stress the tendons in your arm and don’t have enough recovery time they get a little worn down and irritable and unless you are going to permanently decrease the daily activities you are doing that stress the elbow, the only way to “cure” it is to increase the strength and capacity of the muscles and tendons.
Tennis elbow generally responds well to treatment strategies that involve; load management, progressive strengthening, shockwave therapy, and manual therapy.
What Causes Tennis Elbow
There is rarely a single event, most often it is a result of repeated stress that builds up over time.
Common causes may include a combination of the following:
- A sudden increase in volume of work and/or training
- Repetitive gripping, twisting motions at home or at work
- Prolonged computer work
- Previous wrist, elbow or shoulder injuries
- weakness or reduced mobility in the shoulder
- Participation in racquet sports such as tennis or pickleball
- Household tasks such as carrying laundry baskets, cooking, chopping with a knife.
Tennis Elbow Treatment in Burlington
More than just rest
In our clinic in Burlington, we have a special focus on treating injuries in our local pickleball community. This means we see a lot of tennis elbows. To get the best, long-lasting results it takes a well-rounded approach, and more than just a few weeks of “taking it easy”.
At the Recovery Room Chiropractic and Wellness, education always takes the forefront. We make sure that you understand exactly what and why you are experiencing your symptoms so that you can make good decisions in your recovery. We can also help you identify causes or modify tasks to help take the stress of your elbow.
Hands-on treatment modalities such as manual therapy, soft tissue release and joint mobilizations can play a big part in pain reduction and improving the range of motion of your shoulder, elbow and wrist and advanced technology such as shockwave therapy is used to help speed up recovery time and enhance tendon recovery.
Underlying everything you are taken through a progressive loading and strengthening program to help improve the load tolerance capacity of your muscles, tendons and joints, and this is ultimately what will cure your tennis elbow over time.
Frequently Asked Questions about Tennis Elbow
Recovery time can be different for everyone, but generally the longer symptoms have been there, the longer it will take to get better. For someone that has only had symptoms for a short period of time, they may be significantly improved within 4 weeks for others; it can be significantly longer.
Wearing a brace can help reduce stress on the irritated tendon and can be good for short term use, but it is not a long-term solution. Consider using a brace and pairing it with a well-structured recovery plan for the best, and long-lasting results.
Frequently we recommend reducing the amount of activity in the short term to help lessen the stress on the irritated tendon, but most times we want to avoid a complete stop of all activity. Sometimes complete rest can actually increase the time it will take to fully recover. For example, if you play pickleball 4 days a week, we may ask you to only play twice a week instead of for a period.
Dr. Phil Wessel
Chiropractic, Custom Orthotics Fitting
Dr. Phil Wessel is a chiropractor with over seven years of experience helping patients in Burlington and Oakville recover from injury and stay active. Throughout his career, he noticed that many common muscle, tendon, joint, and spine injuries were often treated without addressing the underlying causes, leading to ongoing pain and recurring problems.
This realization led him to create The Recovery Room Chiropractic & Wellness—a clinic focused on providing effective, evidence-informed care for active adults and athletes who want to get back to the activities they love.
Dr. Phil’s treatment approach combines chiropractic adjustments, manual therapy, shockwave therapy, and rehabilitation exercise to help patients recover from both acute and chronic injuries. He has a particular interest in treating tendon-related conditions, including Achilles tendinopathy, tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow, plantar fasciitis, rotator cuff injuries, and jumper’s knee.
A graduate of the University of Guelph and New York Chiropractic College, Dr. Phil understands first hand the importance of staying active. Outside the clinic, you’ll find him spending time with his wife and two children, playing pickleball, or enjoying a round of golf whenever he gets the chance.
Helping active people recover, perform, and stay in the game.
The Recovery Room Chiropractic and Wellness
5041 Fairview St,Burlington, ON
L7L 4W8 View Staff & Treatments
