Acupuncture for Tennis Elbow

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Tennis elbow is a painful condition that causes pain around the elbow but can also radiate down to the forearm and even down to the wrist. It should be properly treated. There is one treatment that health professionals found to be effective. You should try acupuncture for tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis)

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irvine acupuncture for tennis elbow golfers elbow treatment
irvine acupuncture for tennis elbow golfers elbow treatment

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Table of Contents

Tennis Elbow Information

Tennis elbow, also known as lateral epicondylitis, is a condition in which tendons in the elbow tear because of being overused. Lateral epicondylitis gets its name because it was found that 50% of tennis players develop pain around the elbow, of which 75% were caused by tennis elbow [2]. Although tennis elbow mostly affects tennis players, it can found in non-tennis players where tennis elbow affects between 1 and 2% [3] of the U.S population.

Tennis Elbow Symptoms

People who have tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) will experience pain in the elbow and sometimes the pain can radiate down to the forearm and even the wrist. In many cases, the pain or weakness from tennis elbow can make these things difficult:

  • Shaking hands
  • Gripping an object
  • Turning a doorknob
  • Holding a cup
  • Making a fist
  • Raising your hand or straightening your wrist
  • Lifting something
Want to know more how “acupuncture for tennis elbow near me” can help you? Stop by for a complimentary consultation we provide to answer your questions. You’ll get to meet Dr. Fu and be treated by the best acupuncture for tennis elbow in Irvine. Call us now to get complimentary consultation!

How Does Acupuncture For Tennis Elbow Work?

The use of acupuncture for tennis elbow has to do with the body’s life energy called qi. When there is an issue to the body, it is the result of an imbalance flow of qi. To treat issues such as tennis elbow, Eastern practitioners use acupuncture to target points in the body known as acupoints to stimulate the flow of qi. This causes the flow of qi to be restored to its balanced state and causes the body to start naturally healing itself and alleviating symptoms of tennis elbow.

Note: Acupuncture can also treat golfer’s elbow. This is because golfer’s elbow is similar to tennis elbow. If you are struggling with elbow pains and its golfer’s elbow, try acupuncture for golfers elbow (medial epidondylitis).

Really considering trying “acupuncture for tennis elbow near me”? Call us now for acupuncture for tennis elbow complimentary consultation!

Acupuncture For Tennis Elbow

Research On Acupuncture For Tennis Elbow

With the growing popularity of acupuncture, many researchers want to know its efficacy in treating medical conditions. Through several studies, many are finding that acupuncture can be a good treatment for several medical conditions and more are being discovered. One treatment researchers found effective is acupuncture for lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow).

In a study, they looked at 10 randomly controlled trials for acupuncture for tennis elbow. In total, they had 796 participants that were separated into two groups. 431 patients were in the observation group where they receive acupuncture for tennis elbow and  365 patients were in a control group. They measured clinical efficacy rate, visual analog scale (VAS), and functional recovery-related scales to determine its effectiveness. After the acupuncture treatment, they found the clinical efficacy rate and visual analog scale (VAS) of acupuncture for tennis elbow outperformed the control group. Given that finding, they concluded that acupuncture for tennis elbow appears to be superior to drug or blocking therapy or sham acupuncture therapy for lateral epicondylitis [1].

Additional Info

Tennis elbow is caused by the overusing of the forearm muscles or a muscle strain injury. These things can strain and cause tears to the tendons that connect the forearm muscles to the bony prominence on the elbow. As the name suggests, the most common cause is playing tennis but other causes include:

  • Using plumbing tools
  • Painting
  • Driving screws
  • Cutting up cooking ingredients
  • Repetitive computer mouse use
  • Racquetball
  • Squash
  • Fencing
  • Weight lifting
  • Knitting
  • Raking
  • and many more activities

Although playing tennis is the most common cause of tennis elbow, there are other things that can increase your chance of getting it. Some risk factors include:

  • Age: Tennis elbow can affect anyone at any age, but it was found to be more common in adults between the age of 30 and 50.
  • Occupation: Certain jobs with a lot of repetitive movement of the arms and the wrist can increase the chance of developing tennis elbow. Some of the activities were listed above.
  • Certain Sports: Aside from tennis, there are other sports that can cause muscle strain or overuse of the muscles around the elbow. Some of the sports are listed above.

There are different types of treatments but what can really help are home remedies. Here are some home remedies you can do to help with your tennis elbow:

  • Rest: Make sure you take some time to rest your elbow. It will help with your healing process and reduce the pain caused by the condition.
  • Proper technique or form: In some cases, the cause of strain is improper form. Using proper techniques can reduce the risk of strain and injuries.
  • Use the right equipment: In some cases, it can be due to using equipment that is not right for you. For example, using a lighter tennis racket can be more manageable and reduce strain on the muscles.
  • Use a brace: This can provide support and reduce the amount of strain put on your elbow.
  • Warm-up: By doing this before any activity that requires repetitive movement, it can help prevent further pain.
  • Stretching: This can help keep muscle flexibility which prevents the muscle to tighten up and increase the chance of injury.
  • Ice: This can reduce the pain from tennis elbow.

[1] Zhou, Yumei et al. “Effectiveness of Acupuncture for Lateral Epicondylitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.” Pain research & management vol. 2020 8506591. 20 Mar. 2020, doi:10.1155/2020/8506591

[2] Buchanan BK, Varacallo M. Tennis Elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis) [Updated 2020 Mar 15]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2020 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK431092/

[3] Verhaar JA. Tennis elbow. Anatomical, epidemiological and therapeutic aspectsInt Orthop. 1994;18(5):263-267. doi:10.1007/BF00180221

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