Epicondylitis

It is a tendonitis, that is, a tendon inflammation, which affects the tendons of the forearm muscles. It is defined insertional as it affects the insertion of the forearm muscles (the extensors) on the epicondyle, the lateral part of the elbow bone.

Epicondylitis, often called “tennis elbow”, is caused by a mechanical action, excessive repeated movements, or carried out with too much intensity that create a state of hyper stress on the tendon which over time can become inflamed and cause pain; this is what happens in sportsmen (tennis players, golfers, baseballs, fencers etc.) but also in workers who excessively use the muscles of the forearm such as painters, masons, carpenters.

Characteristic of our century is instead that of finding this pathology in people who work at the computer, also in this case we have an overstress of these tendons, but not for excessive or intense movements, but for positions repeated for a long time (8h working) and above all by using wrong postures that lead to mechanical overload on the tendon area in question.

SYMPTOMS:

spontaneous pain in the elbow, which sometimes radiates along the posterior aspect of the forearm and hand, especially after a movement involving strain with the wrist. The patient often complains of a feeling of weakness in the arm even when lifting modest weights, such as a glass, and there is often sharp pain on palpation of the epicondyle (outer part of the elbow).

DIAGNOSIS:

It is performed by the specialist, after a thorough medical history (evaluation of the information reported by the patient), and a clinical examination. A palpation of the epicondyle is performed and then a series of counter-resistance maneuvers are performed to identify the muscle group involved.

THERAPY:

the therapy is directly proportional to the state of tendon inflammation. General practitioners prefer to administer non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), but these are often not enough, and the more time passes the more functional limitation (difficulty moving, muscle weakness) and pain increases.

The physiotherapy approach aimed at reducing symptoms but also at working on the causes that produced it, such as excessive muscle tension, incorrect gestures or incorrect postures, is very important. Often to reduce the symptoms it is necessary to work on the entire upper limb (including shoulder and hand, not only the elbow), and on the cervical, because the elbow is only the victim, the cause often must be sought in other parts of the body, which do not work well they cause dysfunction of the elbow, overloading it and thus causing inflammation.

Within our practice, we make use of close collaboration between orthopedists and physiotherapists to identify the best treatment for everyone.

To treat epicondylitis, we have the best machines available, three of which are tecar, papimi, laser etc. And a team of expert staff who will propose the best treatment suitable for each individual person.