Simply put, nearly half of all tennis players will acquire lateral epicondylitis, or tennis elbow (watch video). Anyone, including professional players assisted by personal trainers, can be susceptible to the injury. Tennis greats such as Venus Williams and Roger Federer have had bouts with the injury. What isn’t commonly known is that tennis elbow can come from many different sources, not just tennis.

Any repetitive motion resembling a tennis stroke, which involves repeated wrist movement, gripping, or squeezing can cause tennis elbow. For athletes, this could mean that other racket and overhead sports participants, golfers, baseball and cricket players, and others, could suffer the condition. Allowing adequate healing time and doing some simple exercises, however, will put tennis elbow on the sideline instead of the player.

Tennis elbow is caused by the overuse of the forearm extensor muscles, which are the muscles used to extend the wrist and grip things, such as a racquet. Deterioration or tearing of the tendons attached to the lateral epicondyle, the bone that can be felt on the outside of the elbow, can be caused by the overuse of these forearm muscles. Doing certain arm motions too much, such as tennis strokes, and using improper technique and equipment are some causes of tennis elbow.

Most, if not all of the time, the dominant arm is the one that is affected. The symptoms start mildly at first, but can and will increase in intensity if proper rest and healing time are not adequate.

Some symptoms include, but are not limited to:

.   Inability to fully extend the elbow.
.   Tightness of the forearm muscles.
.   Pain increases when opening doors, shaking hands, hitting a back-hand, etc.
.   Outside of the elbow is more tender than usual.

Because tennis elbow is an overuse injury, the first practical action would be to stop playing tennis until the pain is gone. Anything, within reason, that causes the pain to become stronger or more intense, should be avoided. Continuing to play the sport or other activity that caused the injury, will only make the problem worse.

Forms of treatment include, but are not limited to:

.   Wrap an icepack in a towel and apply to the elbow for 20 minutes, four times a day.
.   Take aspirin, or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), to reduce inflammation and pain.
.   If recommended by a physician, use a counter-force brace on your forearm to limit the forcegenerated by the forearm when used.
.   After the pain is gone, start to do gentle stretching of the affected area within pain limits. Don't push it.

Also, be sure to take a look at the following TennisMD article on tennis elbow treatment.

As with other injuries, tennis elbow can become a more serious problem if not treated properly. The science of sports has progressed over the years and there are many options available to help with this problem. So with proper care, like sport injury treatment using the P.R.I.C.E. principle, - Protection, Rest, Icing, Compression, Elevation, tennis elbow can become a distant memory.

If you suspect that you have tennis elbow, it is critical to seek the urgent consultation of a local sports injuries doctor for appropriate care. To locate a top doctor or physical therapist in your area, please visit our Find a Sports Medicine Doctor or Physical Therapist Near You section.