Tennis elbow sports injury

Tennis elbow, or lateral epicondylitis, is an extremely common injury that is particularly prevalent in tennis players but which can also occur in people who do not play the sport.

We often think of sports injuries in the same breath as premier sportspeople, but amateur and ‘part-time’ seekers of physical activity can also fall foul of the odd injury or two – particularly if they have launched into exercise without proper preparation.

Symptoms include:

• Pain about 1-2 cm down from the bony area at the outside of the elbow
• Weakness in the wrist, with difficulty doing simple tasks such as opening a door handle
• Pain on the outside of the elbow when the hand is bent back at the wrist
• Pain on the outside of the elbow when trying to straighten the fingers
• Pain when pressing on the outside of the elbow.

What to do when you get a sports injury

Stop what you are doing immediately and apply the RICE method:

Rest the area that is injured

Apply Ice to that area

Compress the area to restrict swelling

Where possible, Elevate the area also to restrict swelling.