Tennis Elbow Care in Garner, NC
Tennis elbow causes pain on the outside of the elbow, often running down the forearm, and it can make gripping, shaking hands or lifting a coffee cup hurt. Despite the name, most people who get it don't play tennis. It shows up far more often in people whose work or hobbies involve repeated gripping. I'm Dr. Adam Seay, D.C. I examine your elbow, wrist, grip and the rest of your arm, sort out what is driving your pain, and build a plan around what I find. Call 919-662-0520 or tap Schedule Appointment above.
Warning signs
Get medical care right away for severe swelling, redness and warmth around the elbow, fever with elbow pain, sudden severe pain after a specific injury, being unable to straighten your wrist or fingers, numbness or tingling in the hand, weakness in the hand or forearm that keeps getting worse, or a visible gap or deformity near the tendon.
Your first elbow visit
Your first visit includes:
-
The story of your elbow: where it hurts, what brings it on, and the gripping, lifting or keyboard work you do at your job, at home and in sports
-
Pressing over the outside of the elbow and the forearm tendons to find exactly where it hurts
-
Standard tennis elbow tests, such as resisted wrist and middle-finger extension
-
A pain-free grip strength measurement, the main measure used in tennis elbow research, so we have a number to recheck
-
Checks of your neck and the nerves in your arm, because a pinched nerve can feel like tennis elbow
-
A written plan tied to what I find, with a re-exam date so progress is measured, not guessed
Bring a list of the tasks that hurt most, and any X-ray, ultrasound or MRI reports you already have.
What causes elbow pain?
Tennis elbow is a tendon problem on the outside of the elbow, mostly in a forearm tendon called the ECRB. Tissue taken from that tendon during surgery shows wear and failed repair, with very few inflammatory cells. That's why it's now called a tendinopathy rather than tendinitis, and why care centers on rebuilding the tendon's tolerance for load.
​
Work is the best-documented risk. In a study of 267 new cases, manual job tasks roughly tripled the odds, and the more forceful, repetitive and awkward the hand and arm work, the higher the risk climbed. It is most common in middle age. Gripping sports like tennis, squash, weightlifting and rowing can bring it on, and so can a sudden jump into a new job, sport or hobby.
​
For most people, the exam is enough to diagnose it. Ultrasound or MRI is kept for when the diagnosis is uncertain or the pain isn't improving with care. Pain on the inside of the elbow is a different problem, golfer's elbow, and involves different tendons.
Why See Seay Wellness for Elbow Pain
Exam before treatment
You see Dr. Seay at every visit, from the first exam to discharge. Nothing is treated until the exam shows where your pain is coming from.
​
Care matched to the cause
Depending on your exam, your plan may include progressive wrist and forearm strengthening with slow lowering (eccentric) exercises, hands-on care such as mobilization of the elbow, and changes to how you grip, lift and set up your workstation. In a review of twelve studies, programs that included eccentric exercise improved pain, function and grip strength, and a pooled analysis found mobilization with movement gave a modest drop in pain. A counterforce brace worn during aggravating tasks gave modest, mostly short-term relief in a placebo-controlled trial.
​
Measured progress
Pain, pain-free grip strength and the tasks that hurt, like gripping, lifting or typing, are recorded at the start and again at re-exam, so you can see the change in numbers.
​
Straight answers
If your exam points to a pinched nerve, a tendon tear, arthritis, an infection or anything else that needs imaging or a medical doctor, I'll tell you and refer you.
Questions About Elbow Pain
Q: Do I need a referral?
A: No. You can book directly by calling 919-662-0520 or through Schedule Appointment at the top of this page.
​
Q: I don't play tennis. Can I still have tennis elbow?
A: Yes. Most people who get it don't play tennis. It's far more common in people whose work or hobbies involve repeated gripping, lifting, or keyboard and mouse use.
​
Q: Should I get a cortisone shot?
A: A shot can give strong relief at six weeks, and it's a medical doctor's call. In two large trials, though, people who got the shot had worse results at one year than people who had physiotherapy or simply waited, and the pain came back more often. Ask about that trade-off first.
​
Q: How long does tennis elbow take to get better?
A: Most people improve a great deal within a year. In the trials, structured physiotherapy did better than waiting in the first six weeks, while a shot looked good at six weeks but not at a year. I recheck at re-exam, keep what is working, and change what isn't.