What Causes Tennis Elbow?

What Causes Tennis Elbow?

Tennis elbow is a condition that affects the joints and tendons in the elbow. The person experiences pain within the muscles and tissues of the elbow. It also causes inflammation of the tendons within your elbow.
In most cases, tennis elbow is known to affect tennis and golf players. However, the condition can affect any other person as well. It is also a condition that is known to go away within a few days or weeks.

Causes of Tennis Elbow

Arthritis is a common infection that attacks the joints of human body. Once you have arthritis, it may lead to several complications and other conditions, one of which is tennis elbow. The onset of arthritis can easily cause inflammation around the joints which in return will cause tennis elbow.

When tennis elbow is caused by arthritis the patient starts experiencing some of the following symptoms.

• Pain in the elbow joints
• Stiffness
• Problems moving the hand
• Swelling

Overuse of the Elbow

This is a more common cause of this condition. It mostly happens to tennis and golf players. The muscles and bones around the elbow are connected by tendons that move and allow a flexible connection between the tissues. These tendons acts as cushions. As a result of movement of the elbow, the tendons may be subjected to excessive movement which can cause inflammation.

Players who use their arms frequently can suffer tennis elbow due to overuse. Other people who are likely to suffer from the condition are workers who constantly use their elbows, in repetitive movements. These may include carpenters, artists, cleaning staff, and any other person that overuses the elbow.

Lack Of Exercise

Exercising is known to strengthen the muscles in our bodies. People who engage in exercises have strong bones and muscles, and cannot easily be affected by tennis elbow. In cases where you elbow movement is intermittent, you are at a higher risk of tennis elbow. This happens when a person whose arms have been dormant engages in vigorous activities. Due to lack of movement of the elbow for a long time the tendons react by aching and swelling. It mostly happens to patients who have stayed in bed for a long time.

Injuries

There are quite a number of injuries that can lead to tennis elbow. Since some of them are just minor injuries, they can easily go unidentified. These minor injuries develop slowly into bigger problems that cause the condition. Some of the injuries you can experience result from resting your elbow on very hardy surfaces. This happens mostly to people working in offices. Resting your elbow on hard furniture can slowly affect the tendons, causing tennis elbow. Other injuries can be more serious, falling on your elbow or another type of impact. These are injuries that affect the tissues in the elbow, and can cause complications as a result of inflammation.

Stretch and Pressure

It is not common but it happens especially to workers lifting and carry very heavy loads. When a person holds a heavy load from the back, with the arms going over the shoulders, it may affect the elbows. Also supporting very heavy loads on your arms can cause excess pressure on the elbows as well.

The Bottom Line

Most causes of tennis elbow can be easily prevented. The main way to prevent tennis elbow is by remaining cognizant about how and when you use your elbows.