Elbow tendinitis

Elbow tendinitis, also known as tennis elbow. It is a phenomenon of chronic inflammation of the tendon caused by long-term weight-bearing and fatigue of the elbow joint, or excessive use of force due to elbow injury that has not been fully recovered, or other trauma and joint dislocation. Generally speaking, mobile phone inflammation is different from other inflammations. The pain only occurs in the morning and can be relieved by taking anti-inflammatory drugs. Elbow tendonitis can cause stiffness in the surrounding joints, thereby affecting the movement of the elbow joint and causing inconvenience to the patient's normal life.

Clinical manifestations

Most of the symptoms of tennis elbow develop slowly. In the early stages, patients only feel soreness on the outside of the elbow. Patients feel pain when moving the upper part of the elbow. The pain can sometimes radiate upward or downward. The patient feels soreness and discomfort and is unwilling to move. The hands should not be used to hold objects forcefully. Actions such as holding a shovel, lifting a pot, wringing a towel, and knitting a sweater may aggravate the pain. Generally, there is a localized tenderness point at the lateral epicondyle of the humerus. Sometimes the tenderness can radiate downward, and there may even be mild tenderness and pain on the extensor tendon. There is no local redness or swelling, and elbow flexion and extension are not affected, but there may be pain when the forearm is rotated. In severe cases, pain may occur when extending fingers, wrists or holding chopsticks. A small number of patients feel that the pain is aggravated on rainy days.

treat

A personalized treatment plan is developed based on the patient's specific situation. The purpose of treatment is to alleviate or eliminate symptoms and avoid recurrence.

1. Non-surgical treatment

(1) Rest. Avoid activities that cause pain. Do not exercise until the pain disappears, especially avoid playing tennis.

(2) Ice compress: Apply ice to the outer side of the elbow for one week, four times a day, for 15 to 20 minutes each time. When wrapping ice cubes in a towel, do not allow the ice cubes to come into contact with your skin to avoid frostbite.

(3) Taking medication: aspirin or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory analgesics (such as ibuprofen).

(4) Protective gear: Using a compression-resistant protective gear on the forearm can limit the force generated by the forearm muscles.

(5) Heat therapy Heat therapy is used before stretching therapy and exercise warm-up activities.

(6) Stretching therapy: When the acute pain disappears, start gently stretching the elbows and wrists as instructed by the doctor. Do not cause pain. Maintain the stretching state for 10 seconds and repeat 6 times.

(7) Strength training: Perform training to strengthen the wrist extension muscles as prescribed by your doctor.

(8) Gradually resume exercise. Start exercising your arms as required by your sports (work activities) as recommended by your doctor.

(9) Local blockade with cortisone Injecting cortisone-like drugs into specific areas of the elbow joint can reduce inflammation and relieve pain.

(10) Extracorporeal shock wave therapy can improve local blood circulation, reduce inflammation, and has a good effect on tendinopathy.

2. Surgery

If it is late-stage tennis elbow or stubborn tennis elbow, surgical treatment may be used if the symptoms remain severe and affect life and work after six months to one year of regular conservative treatment. Surgical methods include minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery and less invasive open surgery to remove unhealthy tissue, improve or restore local blood circulation, and allow tendons and bones to heal.