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What really is tennis elbow and what should you do about it?
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left elbow-joint, showing anterior and ulnar collateral ligaments.
Tennis elbow is painful and we use the term frequently. But what is it and what should we do about it?
What is tennis elbow? The muscle tendon units which allow your wrist to bend both ways and holding things with your hand starts at the inner and outer parts of your elbow. When these actions are repeated over and over again the muscle tendon units can get irritated. This irritation or inflammation happens at the elbow joint and is called epicondylitis or tennis elbow. Some people call it golfer's elbow but as you can read you don't have to be doing either of these sports to get this pain.
When working out with weights there are a couple of exercises that are particularly sensitive to hurting one’s elbow: the bench press and the skullcrusher (a tricep exercise).
People of any age can develop aches, pains, muscle soreness, and even incapacitating injury. I usually use the RICE method of dealing with this. The RICE method is rest, ice, compression, and elevation unless the injury is serious.
1. The immediate use of ice reduces bleeding. For the first 48 to 72 hours following injury, an ice pack should be applied for 10 to 12 minutes every 2 waking hours. Ice Packs are ideal for this purpose.
2. In order to reduce further the amount of blood flowing to the injured area, elevation and compression are recommended using a an elastic support.
3. Rest can prevent further trauma to the damaged site. Supports can help to protect minor injuries while going about daily activities and even going back to working out.
4. Very light massage using any form of oil to prevent skin abrasion can help scar tissue from forming, help heal the area, and reduce the possibility of injury recurrence. When I hurt my shoulders I went to physical therapy. At the time I didn't believe in it but it works and involves deep massage.
If any pain doesn't go away within let's say 48 to at the most 72 hours in spite of using the RICE method see a doctor because you can be irritating the injured area even more making recovery even harder.
I am not a medical doctor and do not work in the medical field. This information comes from my life experiences and work as a former personal trainer.
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