Tennis Elbow
Tennis Elbow Pain Relief
A specialist in tennis elbow treatment can provide an official diagnosis and help you find tennis elbow relief so you can return to your normal, pain-free life. At Greater Maryland Pain Management, our team is committed to finding safe, effective, long-term treatment options for tennis elbow in the greater Maryland areas of Odenton, Crofton, Annapolis, Edgewater, Prince Fredrick, Leonardtown, and Catonsville. When you visit us, we'll work closely with you to identify the tennis elbow symptoms affecting your life. Then, we'll find the right method of tennis elbow treatment for your specific symptoms and lifestyle.
Find Out What Tennis Elbow Is
If you’ve been Googling “What is tennis elbow" because you're unsure if that is causing your symptoms, we can help. When you visit us for a diagnosis of tennis elbow in Crofton, MD, we'll fully explain the condition, its symptoms, and your treatment options. Tennis elbow is a repetitive stress injury caused by overuse of the muscles and tendons that support the movement of the elbow. When the tendons in the elbow get stressed or overloaded, you experience pain, inflammation, stiffness, and muscle spasms. Anyone can develop tennis elbow, even people who don't play sports. You are at risk of tennis elbow symptoms if you have a job or participate in hobbies that cause a repetitive bending motion of the arm and elbow.
Watch for Tennis Elbow Symptoms & Signs
Awareness of tennis elbow's signs and symptoms will help you seek a faster diagnosis. And the faster you get a diagnosis and start tennis elbow treatment, the more likely the treatment will be effective. If you notice any of these tennis elbow symptoms in Annapolis, MD, it is important to get in touch with a physician immediately:
- Burning pain in the outer elbow
- Increased pain when moving, twisting, or bending the arm
- Stiffness that makes it hard to extend the arm
- Swollen elbow joint that looks red or inflamed
- Trouble holding or gripping items
- Discomfort, even when resting
- Difficulty holding the arms out to type, read, bathe, or cook
Understand What Causes Tennis Elbow Pain
Making the same motion over and over will eventually tire out the arm and elbow muscles, causing inflammation, circulation issues, and muscle fatigue. The tendon attached to the bony bump on your elbow will take on more and more of a load as your muscles get more and more fatigued. This results in tendonitis, which eventually worsens and becomes a syndrome called tendinosis. Without proper diagnosis and treatment, tendonitis and tendinosis will eventually result in a torn tendon. In rare cases, tennis elbow can happen suddenly after one incident or injury. This might occur if your arm is jerked severely, you participate in sports like gymnastics or cheerleading, or are involved in a traumatic fall or car accident.
Learn About How We Diagnose Tennis Elbow
If you suspect you have tennis elbow pain in Prince Fredrick, MD, it is important to speak to a physician to receive a diagnosis. Our team can determine if you have tennis elbow symptoms or if another type of injury or condition is causing you pain and inflammation. When we explore a diagnosis of tennis elbow, we use methods including:
- Physical Examination and Exercises – Our team will first do a physical examination to determine if they can see or feel signs of swelling or inflammation. We will ask you to move your elbow, fingers, arm, and wrist in specific ways so we can evaluate your range of motion. We may also apply pressure to your arm or elbow to locate the source of your pain.
- X-Ray – An X-ray can show us if you have inflammation of your elbow joint and can determine if you have arthritis of the elbow. We’ll also be able to see signs of a fracture or injury to the bone.
- MRI – An MRI allows us to see your tendons and nerves in greater detail to look for signs of damage, nerve compression, a torn tendon, or other problems. We may also recommend an MRI of your neck to determine if you have arthritis, disc herniation, or a compressed nerve causing referred pain.
- EMG – An EMG will show us if you have nerve problems in your arm or elbow that would be causing elbow pain.
Explore Our Tennis Elbow Treatment Plans
We work closely with each patient to develop a customized treatment plan for their symptoms, lifestyle, and needs. If we diagnose you with tennis elbow, we'll review all your options for tennis elbow treatment in Leonardtown, MD. We specialize in pain management, medication management, non-surgical intervention, and rehabilitation so our patients can return to happy, pain-free lives. Here's a look at our tennis elbow treatment methods:
- Medication Management – If we determine that medication is an effective tennis elbow treatment method, we will create a medication management plan that addresses your symptoms and needs while providing coordinated, personalized access to our care team to guide you through your medication journey. This will make you less likely to become overly dependent on any medication meant to be a temporary treatment measure. We may also recommend drug therapies, lifestyle changes, dietary and nutrition changes, vitamins, and supplements.
- Prolotherapy – For elbow pain resulting from tendonitis or tendinosis, we'll suggest prolotherapy. Prolotherapy is a non-surgical treatment that stimulates the body's natural healing processes and encourages cell regrowth. We target the specific location of your pain and injury, and in just a few minutes, you can be relieved of pain, swelling, stiffness, and range of motion issues.
- Nerve Block Treatment – We recommend nerve block treatment if your elbow pain is due to nerve damage or a compressed nerve. This minimally invasive treatment method can relieve shooting pain in the arms and numbness or tingling sensations in the arm and hand. Each treatment only takes about 15 minutes and is non-surgical.
- Trigger Point Injections – If we determine your elbow pain is caused by muscle knots or spasms, we may recommend trigger point injections. This procedure targets the affected muscle area and can relieve pain in a matter of minutes. We use safe, sterile equipment in a calming environment to relieve pain and relax muscles.
- Interventional Medicine – We work closely with patients to develop a treatment plan that is safe, effective, and non-invasive. We aim to find a solution that requires little downtime and a short recovery time.
Contact Us for Tennis Elbow Relief
Find tennis elbow relief in Catonsville, MD, by calling us at Greater Maryland Pain Management. Our team includes board-certified physicians dedicated to helping their patients overcome tennis elbow pain and other chronic, recurrent, or debilitating conditions. We understand that each patient is unique, so we tailor our tennis elbow treatment plans to each client's specific needs, goals, and lifestyles. If you're curious whether you'd benefit from our tennis elbow treatment in Odenton, Crofton, Annapolis, Edgewater, Prince Fredrick, Leonardtown, or Catonsville, MD, call us or request an appointment online through our website.