Tennis Elbow Treatment in Rome, GA

How to Know Your Elbow Pain Is Actually Tennis Elbow

When patients walk in our Rome clinic, they almost never say "I have tennis elbow." Instead, we hear comments such as "it's just been my elbow for weeks and I can't even pick up my cup." This is usually the first sign.

Tennis elbow affects the outside of the elbow, especially around the prominent bony structure on the outer side of the elbow. When the bump on the outside of your elbow is sore, then you are likely suffering from this condition. The soreness may spread down to your forearm and wrist, and becomes more intense when you hold, twist or rotate your arm with the palm of your face facing down. Activities such as holding a jar, shaking someone's hand, or opening a door handle can be difficult for you to perform.

You may want to know exactly how tennis elbow is different from other elbow conditions. Tennis elbow causes the outer elbow to be painful and sore over time, rather than being injured as the result of a sudden fall.

• Having trouble with the grip or holding objects (which may be especially difficult in the morning).
• Experiencing soreness in your arm as a result of certain activities that involve arm motion.
• Having pain or soreness on the outer elbow, but not in the elbow joint itself.

It's also easy to think you have tennis elbow if you're an avid tennis player. However, we have a lot of patients in West Rome who don't play tennis but still have tennis elbow. This could affect an office worker, a cosmetologist, a mechanic, a landscaper and even other people who repeatedly make motions with their wrist or forearm. According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, tennis elbow affects up to three percent of the population, and most cases are not caused by playing tennis.

Another elbow condition, golfer's elbow, may affect the inner elbow, and if you have a pinched nerve in your neck, you can also have elbow pain in the same area. However, there is usually tingling and numbness with the arm, and pain from the inner elbow joint itself.

Another elbow condition, golfer's elbow, may affect the inner elbow, and if you have a pinched nerve in your neck, you can also have elbow pain in the same area. However, there is usually tingling and numbness with the arm, and pain from the inner elbow joint itself.

If you're not sure if this is what you have, then don't worry. It's actually quite common for it to start out as just some elbow pain after work. Then later on, you'll be holding a jug of water and be completely unable to lift it. If you experience a long period of time before your tennis elbow symptoms start to become painful and irritating, this is a sign that you should get it checked out. We can perform a physical exam in our clinic, assess your strength in certain areas and test your range of motion. Only then will you know what is the best tennis elbow treatment for you.

Why Tennis Elbow Keeps Coming Back Without Real Treatment

You've already tried the splint. You've iced your arm for several weeks and maybe even for a month. Then you make one wrong move, such as picking up a bag of groceries, and the searing pain shoots through your arm again.

This is one story that we hear from all of our patients in our Rome office.

This doesn't mean you're doing it wrong or that there is something wrong with the way you are treating the condition. The reason the pain comes back is because most treatments for the condition are not meant to help you permanently overcome it.

Tennis elbow develops when the tendons on the outer side of the elbow sustain micro-tears due to repetitive motion. You might reduce inflammation with ice and rest. But ice and rest can't fix the damaged tissue, or they won't correct the bad movement patterns that produced the tears. Consider it this way. If you have a pothole, stopping your car doesn't repair it. There still is a pothole there. As soon as you're back out doing your regular gripping and lifting and typing activities, that same spot will likely get torn up again. This is the same story, most likely, with the majority of folks on or near North Broad Street who use their hands extensively. Here's what's going on:

• Scar tissue is forming and restricting blood flow to the area, preventing healing.
• Tight forearm muscles are pulling on the injured area.
• Misalignment of the wrist, elbow, or even the spine is affecting the way forces move through the upper extremity.
• The underlying cause, either repetitive motion or a biomechanical problem, has not been addressed.

According to the Journal of Orthopaedics, tennis elbow affects up to 3% of the population [2]. It's a repetitive strain injury, affecting painters, chefs, office workers, people who work in the warehouse. The folks you work with every day in Rome. Effective tennis elbow treatment must involve more than treating symptoms. The tissue must be encouraged to heal actively. The joint mechanics need to be improved and corrected. The person must relearn the habits and patterns of movement so the problem won't return six months down the road. That is exactly what we focus on, in getting people past the cycle of tennis elbow.

What Does Tennis Elbow Treatment Entail? Step by Step

Often, the question from a patient is, what will happen in a visit? Well, of course! Let's say the treatment of tennis elbow in Rome goes like this, from the minute you arrive at our office:

1. The history. We talk with you to learn where it's hurting, when it began, and what aggravates it. Carrying a mug, turning the doorknob. That can go further than you might suppose.
2. Hands on, hands out. We examine the elbow, the wrist, the forearm, the shoulder. The symptoms are almost always at the elbow, but the source can be somewhere else. We examine your strength of grip, the range of motion, too.
3. The source of it all. At times, an imbalance of the upper back and even the cervical spine may be feeding the elbow symptoms. We look at the entire body, not just where it hurts.
4. Create the care plan. After that, we'll outline a plan for you. That might comprise shockwave therapy, cold laser therapy, chiropractic care, or even both.
5. Begin treatment the very same day. We don't make you sit and wait for a week or so. If it hurts, we do work.
6. Check in on how you're doing. During each follow-up appointment, we evaluate your improvement and modify the treatment plan based on how your elbow is responding.

We rely heavily on shockwave therapy to treat tennis elbow in Rome. The therapy delivers pressure waves to the injured tendon to stimulate the healing process. The vast majority of patients start to experience some relief after a handful of treatments.

Additionally, we employ cold laser therapy to reduce inflammation right at the tissue. There is zero pain associated with this treatment. You'll hardly know we're doing anything but the outcomes are phenomenal. A study published in the British Medical Journal found that extracorporeal shockwave therapy provides positive treatment outcomes for tendon injuries that have persisted over time.

Every treatment is hands-on and tailored to your unique situation. No guesswork and no generic stretches off a sheet of paper. Find out more about our services performed by our trained chiropractic team.

Recovery Length and What Influences Your Timeframe

Many individuals want a specific timeframe for recovery.

The honest answer is: mild cases of tennis elbow can improve with proper care in about four to six weeks. More advanced cases of tennis elbow can take between two and three months. If you've been ignoring the symptoms for over six months before seeing us, the recovery will take considerably longer. Orthopaedic research tells us that 80 to 95 percent of cases of tennis elbow resolve with treatment rather than surgery. This is positive news, and suggests that your recovery chances will be high if you commit to the recommended care and exercises.

Factors that Expedite Recovery

Your specific timeline will vary for a variety of reasons:

• The sooner you start treatment after symptoms first appear.
• The extent to which the injured tendon is properly rested between treatments.
• Your general health and circulation.
• Your adherence to doing rehab exercises at home.

We find the quickest results in patients who seek treatment sooner rather than later and stick to their plan. And this isn't an opinion, it is simply what the data tells us every week here in Rome.

Factors that Impede Recovery

Some patients in the Rome area around the North Broad Street location visit us after ignoring a painful elbow for several months. They continued to squeeze, to pull, to work. By the time they seek treatment, the tendon has suffered a great deal of injury, and the body has formed scar tissue that won't heal as well or stretch as readily as normal tissue.

Smoking and diabetes also slow down healing. Occupations that require repeated wrist movement make recovery much more difficult since the tendon can't be unloaded from stress and strain at work. We'll discuss modifications for how you can continue to work without derailing your recovery.

However, what may not be readily apparent to patients is that your recovery isn't going to progress linearly week-to-week. You may have a great week, then find yourself with an off day after a particularly strenuous day of pulling up weeds or moving furniture. That's totally fine. One off day doesn't mean you've lost ground, just that the tissue is still healing. That's why we track your grip strength and pain on paper every time you come in. Real numbers. That way, even if today feels disappointing, you and your clinician can see if progress is actually happening. Most of our Rome patients start seeing the big change by week three or four of shockwave and rehab. After that, progress gets easier and bigger.

Can Tennis Elbow Come Back Once You’re Treated in Rome?

Stopping the pain is just the first part. The key question is will it return?

This happens all the time at our clinics. We tell our Rome patients, "Your tendon healed, but the stress that damaged it isn't gone." That's why it comes back for so many people. Feel better, immediately go back to gripping tennis rackets, and then in three months we see them in our office. The only ones who don't follow this pattern are the ones who stick to the following recommendations once we're done.

How to Avoid Tennis Elbow Recurrence

There is no one magic solution. Just a few key components to avoid recurrence:

• Rehab exercises, three times a week, even after the pain stops.
• Arm warm-ups before any repetitive gripping activity (yard work, gardening, tennis matches).
• Sport-specific counterforce bracing for the first few months of activity.
• Grip awareness, a loose grip reduces tensile stress.
• Follow-up visits to identify any early re-stressing before it becomes an acute flare up.

In other words, most Rome patients that follow these recommendations never come back for recurrence. Those who don't, most of the time do. Another important thing that most people forget is that your posture also plays an important role in load tolerance of your elbow and other parts. If your spine is not aligned properly, nerve supply to your forearm will also be interrupted. That's part of the reason why we often combine tennis elbow treatments with chiropractic adjustment. It's a whole-chain approach and not limited just to the inflamed tendon near your elbow.

Rome doing manual labor say that the biggest difference is in pacing activities. A five-minute break every 30 minutes isn't too hard, but it makes all the difference throughout a workday. You don't have to live in constant caution of your elbow forever, you just have to be smart for a little while. When the remodeling is complete and the new motor pattern is in place, your elbow can handle it. We can get you there and keep you there.