Tennis elbow is often a frustrating and quite debilitating condition. Generally, tennis elbow will last between six months and two years, although typically a patient will make some type of recovery within a year. Our Chiropractor in West Vancouver sees quite a few patients that suffer from this condition every week. It may not be a complete recovery as overstressing the muscles and tendons in that area will bring it back again. Tennis elbow, known medically as lateral epicondylitis is quite painful and limits a lot of everyday activities. The simple act of lifting a coffee cup to your lips can cause pain to the affected elbow.
However, modern treatments, such as treating tennis elbow with shockwave therapy, have proved to be very effective at speeding up the healing process of the condition. Most people that suffer from tennis elbow think they have to live with this chronic pain for a long time but that is now not the case. Shockwave Therapy has indeed been a lifesaver and typically heals tennis elbow in a matter of weeks only.
What is Tennis Elbow?
In short, tennis elbow is a condition where you feel pain on the outside of your elbow. Generally, tennis elbow is caused by strenuous and repetitive activities such as playing tennis and golf. Other innocuous activities that are repetitive like lifting a lot of heavyweights at the gym, or working with a tool that requires a forceful grip on a repetitive basis such as hammering or power tools can cause tennis elbow.
Pain is most noticeable when lifting or bending your elbow joint, gripping smaller objects such as a pen or paintbrush, or twisting your forearm. It may also be tricky to fully extend your arm without experiencing some pain.
Causes of Tennis Elbow
The elbow is the key area to allow movement in your elbow, wrist, and fingers. Tendons in your elbow are responsible for attaching bones and muscle together – this is where the pain of tennis elbow will usually originate. Overusing and overloading of the muscles and tendons can lead to strain, tears in the muscle, and eventual inflammation.
Strains, tears, and inflammation in muscles, joints, and tendons naturally repair themselves over time. However, in some cases such as tennis elbow, the healing does not completely repair the injury and it will remain partially functional but with chronic pain and weakness for years. Studies show that partial healing occurs due to lack of blood flow, and repetitive use.
In the meantime, it is best to reduce the amount of time spent doing strenuous activities that involve your elbow. Other ordinary self-remedies and treatments include rest, applying ice initially and heat after a few days, and gentle stretches and exercises for your elbow.
Treatment options for Tennis Elbow
There are a handful of treatment choices for tennis elbow. Traditionally therapies will center around Ice, TENS, exercises, and a gradual return to activities via exercise. Sometimes medications are used to reduce inflammation.
Painkillers
Painkillers can also help with the mild to sharp pain associated with tennis elbow. Even common painkillers such as paracetamol can make the healing period easier. Ibuprofen will help ease mild pain and deal with the inflammation caused by tennis elbow.
Treating Tennis Elbow with Shockwave Therapy
Shockwave Therapy is a modern technique used to treat a range of conditions across orthopedics, veterinary medicine, and modern sports medicine. It works by firing high energy shockwaves to painful areas of the body and then allowing the normal process of repair to occur naturally within the body. Tissue regeneration occurs quickly along with increased blood supply to the injured area. Shockwave Therapy accelerates this repair and healing process in a matter of weeks! Fortunately, tennis elbow is one of the conditions that can be effectively treated with shockwave therapy.
Shockwave therapy is proven to help speed up the regeneration processes of bones, tendons, and other soft tissue injuries. This means it can speed up the rate at which your elbow feels better and getting back to your normal activities faster.
What does the process involve?
During this procedure, shockwaves pass through the selected area using a shockwave device. Shockwave therapy is usually carried out over four or more sessions, depending on the severity of the pain or inflammation. Anesthesia is not a requirement as it is not a painful treatment. There are some areas of high sensitivity to the shockwaves initially, but this sensitivity usually dissipates in a minute or two. Some conditions do require some local anesthesia such as working with patients that having Shockwave Therapy for erectile dysfunction. Usually, a topical numbing agent is used initially.
Does shockwave therapy hurt while treating tennis elbow?
Shockwave therapy might cause mild discomfort initially in certain cases. Other side effects might include a temporary redness of the skin and a dull ache or pain that should subside within a few days after getting treatment. Shockwave therapy does not cause any pain to the muscle however bony areas are sensitive for only a few seconds to a minute. After that, you probably won’t feel much at all.
Is getting shockwave therapy worth it for tennis elbow?
Shockwave therapy for tennis elbow is now quickly becoming the defacto treatment of choice for tennis elbow. If the pain is severe or if the patient needs to be fit and ready quicker than the usual recovery time, shockwave therapy is indeed recommended. You will be amazed at how fast Shockwave Therapy works as opposed to the traditional treatment methods of the past. This is why shockwave therapy is often used in sports medicine for athletes who need to have a faster recovery time.
The treatment is also great if you want to get rid of the frustrating discomfort or lack of movement in your elbow during the long recovery period for tennis elbow. Our Chiropractor in West Vancouver can discuss the options with you and discover whether the treatment is right for you. If you do decide to get treated with Shockwave Therapy for your tennis elbow, please make an appointment to book a few sessions at our clinic here in Ambleside Chiropractic in West Vancouver.
For a more detailed explanation of what Shockwave Therapy is and how it can help you deal with other chronically painful conditions, please find out more at our Shockwave Therapy website at Shockwave Therapy BC
You will be quite pleasantly surprised to find out that you don’t have to live with chronic pain any longer!
