Tennis elbow

Tennis elbow - Tennis elbow is a tendinopathy of the common extensor origin of the lateral elbow ( John Orchard BMJ 2011 ). First described by Runge et al in 1873 when it was called " writers cramp "

Tennis elbow is very common Peaks age 35-55 Dominant arm involved in majority of ( ~ 75 % ) cases Equal gender incidence Prevalence 1-3 % ( higher in manual workers ) Tennis players make only 10 % of tennis elbow casesbut 50 % of tennis players develop elbow pain and tennis elbow is responsible for 75 % of those Occurs more frequently in non-athletes Most common cause of persistent elbow pain in general practice

Etiology multifactorial Overuse injury of extensor carpi radialis brevis insertion at the lateral epicondyle of humerus Several contributory factors as○ force○ repetition ( forearm and elbow )○ posture Repetitive overuse --> microtear --> initiates a degenerative processTendon adaptation --> granulation tissue formation , fibrosis and eventual tendinosis No evidence of acute or chronic inflammation ie not a true inflammatory process Tendons predisposed to injury due to (a) limited vascular supply (b) subject to repetitive tension forces (c) wrap around a convex surface

Risk factors- age 40-60...