What causes right lateral epicondylitis?

Right lateral epicondylitis is an inflammation of the outer part of the human elbow. Suffering from lateral epicondylitis can easily cause shoulder pain and movement disorders. Severe pain will occur when exerting force. It is generally common in athletes or bricklayers and is caused by long-term shoulder and muscle exertion.

What causes right lateral epicondylitis?

Lateral epicondylitis is a painful inflammation of the tendons on the outside of the elbow. The pain is caused by repetitive exertion of the muscles responsible for extending the wrist and fingers dorsally. Patients experience pain on the outside of the elbow when they forcefully grasp or lift objects. This disease is more common in middle-aged and elderly people who have high intensity of forearm labor. The occurrence of this disease is closely related to occupation. It is more common in carpenters, fitters, masons and tennis players, especially tennis players.

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.

examine

During the examination, tenderness may be found at the origin of the radial extensor carpi brevis, which is the upper and outer part of the elbow joint. Joint range of motion is normal, and local swelling is uncommon. When the patient's forearm is internally rotated and the wrist joint is flexed and then extended again, the injury mechanism is repeated, and pain will appear on the upper and outer sides of the elbow joint.

Generally, there is no need to take X-rays. If necessary, X-rays can be used to determine whether the bones of the elbow joint are normal and whether there is calcium salt deposition in the proximal end of the extensor tendon.

diagnosis

The diagnosis of tennis elbow is mainly based on clinical manifestations and physical examination, which mainly manifest as pain and tenderness on the outside of the elbow joint. The pain may radiate along the forearm to the hand, forearm muscle tension, inability to fully straighten the elbow joint, and stiffness or limited movement of the elbow or wrist joint. The pain gets worse with the following activities: shaking hands, turning a doorknob, picking up objects with your palm facing down, hitting a tennis backhand, swinging a golf club, and pressing on the outside of your elbow.

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 and avoid activities that cause pain. Do not exercise until the pain disappears, especially avoid playing tennis.

(2) Apply ice to the outside 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 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 applied before stretching therapy and exercise warm-up activities.