“Is tennis elbow a chronic condition?”
I play tennis quite frequently and a few months ago, I was diagnosed with tennis elbow. Since then I did exactly what the doctor told me to do, pain relievers and physical therapy, but my elbow still has some pain. Is tennis elbow considered a chronic condition?
6 Answers
Yes it is but it can be cured with PT, injections and rarely surgery
Typically tennis elbow will resolve on its own but it takes about a year many times. We need to continue with your stretching exercises and to avoid offending activities. You could consider a Cortizone injection at some point but that will only be for pain relief and doesn’t “cure it”.
Usually, tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) will resolve with relative rest and physical therapy. You might talk with a tennis coach to check your technique and racquet. Some physicians have had success treating this condition with a platelet enriched plasma injection though the results are mixed in the ortho literature. Rarely, this condition will require a surgical procedure but that is the last resort.
Tennis elbow, or any tendinitis, can be cured completely. But it does take a long time! It can be 6-12 months for the symptoms to completely go away. A lot of that depends on how much you continue to use the affected area. If you still play a lot of tennis, your body has to heal from all the old damage, as well as all the new damage that happens every time you play!
Tennis elbow does not have to be a chronic condition. Physical therapy usually cures it, but sometimes a person needs an injection or surgery. Tennis players need to assess the diameter of their racquet grip. It should be no longer than the length of your wrist flexion crease to the tip of your fourth finger.
Tennis elbow is something that can be chronic. It can also come and go. You can have times where you’re fine and other times you’re not. One thing you could try that you have not is a Cortizone injection. Also we are using PRP or platelet rich plasma injections for tennis elbow with good results. It is a technique where we take some of your blood and spin it down to get the platelet rich plasma or growth factors. We injected into that area to help heal the tissue and decrease the inflammation. If your symptoms persist despite conservative treatment I would recommend an MRI. Sometimes there’s an underlying tear in the tendon and or ligament.
