Is tennis elbow caused by playing tennis?

  Tennis elbow is named after tennis players who are prone to the disease, which is known by the medical name “humeral epicondylitis”. Housewives, bricklayers, carpenters and other people who repeatedly exert themselves for a long time to do elbow activities are also prone to this disease. Due to long-term strain, some tendons and soft tissues attached to the elbow joint can be partially torn or damaged, or the periosteum can be traumatized by friction, causing periostitis.  In the initial stage, the pain is only sore and mild on the outside of the elbow joint, or localized when the forearm is rotated forward or backward by force after wrist extension. When the disease develops, persistent pain occurs in the lateral epicondyle of the humerus, and the pain may radiate to the lateral side of the forearm. The pain is especially pronounced when the patient’s hand strength is reduced, and the patient is unable to hold things firmly, lift heavy objects, wring towels, or hit balls with the backhand. There are obvious pressure points at the attachment point of the tendon of the humeral epicondyle, the humeral-radial joint gap and the radial tuberosity. After the occurrence of tennis elbow, attention should be paid to rest and stop some movements that use the strength of the elbow and wrist. A variety of heat-transferring physical therapy, or hot compresses with hot water bags or hot towels, and combined with acupuncture and tui-na are effective. Injection of Depo-Provera in the pressure pain is more effective if the injection site is accurate. It can be injected once a week, 2 to 3 times for a course of treatment. Except for individual patients whose pain may increase due to local inflammatory reaction within 1-2 days after injection, local injection generally does not cause systemic complications. If there is still no effect after various treatments, and it has seriously affected work and life, surgery can be done.  Before people play sports, they should do sufficient preparation activities. People who have been less physically active for a long time should be careful to avoid sudden excessive elbow activity. Middle-aged and elderly people who are engaged in repeated extension and flexion of the elbow joint should pay attention to the combination of work and rest and moderate targeted exercise. After the patient is cured, it is still important to prevent the elbow from blowing and catching cold and avoid overworking to avoid recurrence.