Elbow Tendinitis / Tendonitis Injuries – How Do You Get Arm Pain?
Elbow Tendinitis / Elbow Tendonitis Injuries
Tennis Elbow Tendinitis and Tennis Elbow Tendonitis – What is the Difference?
Tendinitis or Tendonitis are alternative spellings of the same condition. The -itis part means inflammation so the term tendonitis means inflammation of a tendon.
In medicine and medical textbooks you are more likely to see Tendinitis than Tendonitis although they are interchangeable.
However in Tennis Elbow Tendinitis there is generally no inflammation present and the more correct term is Tendinosis or Tendinopathy!
Tennis Elbow Tendonitis / Tendinitis Causes
Changes in the tendon are caused by repetitive movements or overuse of the muscle and tendon unit. Any activity that involves forceful gripping and / or quick repeated movements of the hand can lead to these changes and Tennis Elbow Tendonitis injuries and symptoms.
As I explained in Tennis Elbow Injury and Tennis Elbow Symptoms Tennis Elbow Tendonitis or Lateral Epicondylitis is pain in the outer aspect of your elbow and forearm and is generally not inflammatory but consists of degenerative changes in the structure of the Extensor Carpi Radialis Brevis (ECRB) or “Tennis Elbow Tendon.”
Taking part in a new activity which uses your arm, or doing more than usual of an activity can cause Tennis Elbow arm pain. Common examples are:
- tennis and racquet sports
- painting and decorating
- using handtools – saw, screwdriver, hammer etc
- using powertools – drills, sanders etc
- using a keyboard or mouse
- watersports involving gripping – waterskiing, sailboarding etc
- prolonged intricate movements of the hand – sewing, scissors, using a knife etc
- playing with the Wii games console too long
Wrist Extension Causes Tennis Elbow Injury
If I stick with tennis for the moment. Between 40 and 50% of all tennis players have experienced Tennis Elbow Tendonitis pain at least once, and for many it can persist for a long time and affect their participation in their sport.
Gripping any object involves extending the wrist (see picture above).
Resisting movements that cause the wrist to flex away from this extended position produce stress in the muscle and tendon and cause arm pain.
The classic example is a single-handed backhand in tennis – look at the forces involved in trying to ‘break’ the wrist in this picture.
These forces depend on various factors such as ball speed, speed of the racket, racket size, string stiffness, off-center impact and hand grip force.
Eccentric contraction forces in ECRB at ball impact are increased by bending the wrist and having low muscle activation.
This is exactly what is found in novice tennis players who are more prone to Tennis Elbow Tendonitis probably due to poor technique (and incorrect muscle activation) with the backhand and service strokes. It is this lack of correct muscle activation that results in increased force transmission to the ECRB tendon (lateral epicondylitis muscles) and can lead to microtrauma and degeneration in the tendon (acute Tennis Elbow).
DIY Causes of Tennis Elbow Arm Pain
Again gripping too tightly and trying to get too much done especially when your are not accustomed to doing the task for a long period can lead to overuse of the ECRB tendon and tennis elbow tendinitis pain.
When you use any tool (power tool or hand tool) you need to keep control of where it is pointing and absorb any vibrations – this is done at the wrist.
Using a screwdriver involves supination and pronation movements of the forearm while maintaining an extended wrist which stresses the wrist extensors.
Using a paint brush can involve thousands of repeated flexion / extension movements at the wrist if you are inexperienced and use bad technique and this leads to overuse Tennis Elbow arm pain.
Mouse & Keyboard and Tennis Elbow PC Pain
Prolonged use of a keyboard and / or mouse can lead to Tennis Elbow injuries. This is especially true if the keyboard or mouse is not set up for ‘ergonomic’ use. If the position of the keyboard or mouse means that the wrists are extended or flexed for any period of time then this leads to an increased stress on the forearm tendons at the elbow and produces Elbow Tendinitis pain.
In the same way, reaching out for the mouse or the keyboard can also cause arm pain.
Adjust the height of your keyboard so that you keep your forearms parallel to the floor.
Wii and Tennis Elbow Tendonitis
see my article
Summary
There is no substitute for good technique – get a good coach!
Do not grip too tightly!
Learn how to use the tools properly!
Have you taken my Extensive Professional Tennis Elbow Self-Assessment Tool?
Find out
- what type of Tennis Elbow Lateral Epicondylitis do you have
- if you are doing the correct exercises
- what underlying problems are stopping your elbow from getting better
- if your neck is causing the problem
- and many more things…..
Take the FULL ASSESSMENT at Tenis Elbow Assessment
Back to Tennis Elbow Top 10 Questions
This entry was posted on Monday, July 12th, 2010 at 9:33 am and is filed under Elbow and Forearm Pain, Medial / Lateral Epicondylitis Elbow Injuries. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
July 15th, 2010 at 2:41 am
Tennis is a really tough sport! I’d like to use some of this information on my blog if you don’t mind, and I’ll provide a link back to your site.
July 18th, 2010 at 2:40 pm
Merely want to say your article is as tonishing. The clearness in your post is simply spectacular and i can assume you are an expert on this subject. Well with your permission allow me to grab your rss feed to keep up to date with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and please keep up the effective work.
July 22nd, 2010 at 7:07 am
What a great resource!
July 22nd, 2010 at 12:49 pm
Great article…I’ve bookmarked this page.
I suffered from tennis elbow for many months. My doctor recommended a cortisone shot, it worked for maybe 4 weeks and then the pain came back again. Whatever you do, don’t get a cortisone shot, you think you’re cured, you go back to normal activities and then you’re back at square one again.
Also, I found out that there are dangers to getting cortisone shots as well. There is a post on why you shouldn’t get a cortisone shot…cortisone shots dangerous for tennis elbow treatment
Stay healthy,
Margaret
July 28th, 2010 at 6:00 pm
[...] Arm Pain – How Did I Get Tennis Elbow? | DiyInjuryRehab.com [...]
July 29th, 2010 at 5:11 pm
It appears that you’ve put lots of effort and hard work into your article and I need much more of these using the net these days. I sincerely got a kick out of your post. I don’t definitely have much to talk about in response, I only wished to comment to reply wonderful work..
August 12th, 2010 at 5:51 am
[...] Arm Pain – How Do You Get Elbow Tendinitis Injuries … [...]
August 14th, 2010 at 6:49 pm
Advantageously, the post is in reality the best on this worthy topic. I harmonise with your conclusions and will thirstily look forward to your next updates. Just saying thanks will not just be adequate, for the great lucidity in your writing. I will instantly grab your rss feed to stay informed of any updates. Genuine work and much success in your business dealings Bodybuilding Forums is the best place to find Bodybuilding Forum news.
August 16th, 2010 at 3:20 am
[...] Elbow Tendinitis / Tendonitis Injuries – Hοw Dο Yου Gеt Arm Pain? | DiyIn… [...]
August 16th, 2010 at 7:44 pm
[...] Tennis Elbow Top 10 questions Facebook Tendonitis Pain – Google Blog Search by catchesthelight Related news: Shaw Fantasy MLB: News and notes The combination of closers [...]
August 18th, 2010 at 2:11 am
[...] Elbow Tendinitis / Tendonitis Injuries – How Do You Get Arm Pain … [...]
August 18th, 2010 at 2:43 am
A-Rod out of lineup with calf tightness (AP)…
I found your entry interesting to I’ve added a Trackback to it on my weblog
…
August 18th, 2010 at 7:49 pm
5 Crucial Exercises To Lose Your Love Handles…
I found your post interesting and I’ve added a Trackback to it on my blog
…
September 1st, 2010 at 1:39 am
[...] Elbow Tendinitis / Tendonitis Injuries – Hοw Dο Yου Gеt Arm Pain … [...]
September 4th, 2010 at 5:26 am
It is possible to have a ton of success posting content to article directories. I have easily double your visitors.
September 14th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
Two Studies Validate the Effectiveness of Novel Tennis Elbow Exercise……
We added a trackback to your site over at RMG, since we found our readers might find your site of interest….
November 29th, 2010 at 5:42 am
pretty helpful material, overall I consider this is well worth a bookmark, thanks
May 16th, 2011 at 3:19 pm
[...] post: DiyInjuryRehab.com » Elbow Tendinitis / Tendonitis Injuries – How … Tagged with: ball-speed • classic-example • forces • forces-depend • racket [...]
May 16th, 2011 at 3:48 pm
[...] here: DiyInjuryRehab.com » Elbow Tendinitis / Tendonitis Injuries – How … July 12th, 2010 Uncategorized Tags: ball-speed, classic-example, depend-on-various, [...]