Tennis elbow is a repetitive use injury of the tendons that attach at the lateral epicondyle, the bony prominence at the outside of your elbow. Those tendons anchor the muscles of your forearm that extend your wrist and bend it backward, to the bone at your elbow. Tennis elbow is often associated with poor arm mechanics while playing tennis, but it can also be caused by other activities that overload the muscles and tendons of the forearm.
Medically called lateral epicondylitis, tennis elbow most often has a gradual onset, getting worse over time. Even if you discontinue the activity that caused your tennis elbow, it can take months for the pain to go away. Now, new technology gives us a tool for speeding up the healing process and eliminating tennis elbow pain.
Tennis Elbow Symptoms and Causes
While anyone can develop tennis elbow, it is most common in middle-aged adults. In addition to tennis, many other activities can cause micro tearing and inflammation in the tendons of the lateral elbow. Because tendons have limited vascularity, lateral epicondylitis can take a long time to heal.
Common tennis elbow symptoms include:
- Burning pain in the outer elbow
- Pain when lifting or carrying heavy objects
- Weakened grip
- Pain at night
Activities that can cause tennis elbow include:
- Racquet sports of all types
- Golf
- Swimming
- Fencing
- Throwing sports
- Occupations that require repeated twisting motions involving the wrist and elbow, like dentist, carpenter, painter, construction worker and musician
Avoiding the activities that caused your tennis elbow can help you heal. However, if your condition is occupational, it may be difficult to abstain from your daily tasks. Wrapping your elbow with an elastic bandage can help support your muscles and tendons and relieve pain.
Conventional Treatment for Tennis Elbow
The most common interventions for tennis elbow include anti-inflammatory medications, corticosteroid injections, bracing and physical therapy to strengthen the wrist and forearm muscles. Icing is also an effective therapy for reducing inflammation and numbing pain. But the location and structure of the elbow makes icing difficult and inconvenient.
What is Cryotherapy for Tennis Elbow and How Does it Work?
Localized cryotherapy provides a new technology for treating tennis elbow that is completely painless and non-invasive. The treatment uses a special wand-like device that directs a sub-zero temperature stream of liquid nitrogen gas to the site of pain and injury.
The extreme cold causes capillaries and blood vessels in the surrounding tissues to constrict, shunting blood, fluids and toxins away from the region and relieving pain and inflammation. As the area slowly warms to room temperature, freshly oxygenated blood makes its way back into the damaged tissues to promote healing.
When combined with physical therapy, regular localized cryotherapy sessions can help speed up the healing process, so you can get back to doing your favorite activities.
Local Cryotherapy for Tennis Elbow in NYC
The sooner you recognize and treat your tennis elbow symptoms, the faster you’ll heal. Sadly, many people ignore the early stages of tennis elbow pain, and wait until it becomes unbearable to seek treatment. By that time, more damage has been done to the tendons, prolonging the healing process.
When administered by a skilled technician, local cryotherapy for tennis elbow is safe and effective, with no adverse side effects. The cryotherapy specialists at InVita Wellness work with athletes and physically active people to help them recover and heal from overuse injuries like tennis elbow. Contact InVita Wellness today, and treat your symptoms to a blast of soothing cold with local cryotherapy.
