Despite the name, most people who develop tennis elbow have never picked up a racquet. Tradies, office workers, gym-goers and anyone whose day involves repetitive gripping or lifting can end up with that familiar ache on the outside of the elbow.
Tennis elbow, known clinically as lateral epicondylalgia, is one of the most common causes of elbow pain in adults, and it’s most frequent between the ages of 35 and 54.
Understanding what’s actually going on in the tendon, and why rest alone often isn’t enough, is the first step toward getting on top of it.
What Is Tennis Elbow?
Tennis elbow is an overload condition affecting the tendons that attach your forearm muscles to the outside of the elbow. These muscles control your wrist and grip, which is why the pain shows up during everyday tasks rather than just sport.
It’s not an inflammation problem in the way people often assume. Research shows the tendon undergoes structural change from repeated overload, which is why quick fixes that only target inflammation often provide short-lived relief.
Common Symptoms
Tennis elbow typically presents as:
- Pain or tenderness on the bony bump on the outside of the elbow
- Aching that spreads down the forearm
- Pain when gripping, twisting or lifting, like shaking hands, turning a jar lid or carrying shopping
- Weakness in grip strength
- Stiffness that’s often worse in the morning or after activity
Symptoms usually build gradually over weeks rather than appearing after a single incident.
Who Actually Gets Tennis Elbow?
Only a small proportion of cases involve tennis. Far more common triggers include:
- Manual work: Trades involving repetitive gripping, hammering, screwdriving or vibrating tools
- Desk work: Long hours of typing and mouse use, especially with poor wrist positioning
- Gym training: Sudden increases in pulling or gripping exercises, or poor technique under load
- Home and lifestyle tasks: Gardening, painting, carrying children, or a big weekend project after months of doing little
The common thread is a spike in repetitive load that the tendon isn’t conditioned to handle, which echoes a familiar theme: gradual progression matters everywhere, not just in sport.
Why Rest Alone Often Isn’t Enough
Complete rest usually settles the pain, but it doesn’t rebuild the tendon’s capacity to handle load. That’s why so many people feel better after a few weeks off, return to normal activity, and find the pain comes straight back.
Current evidence supports progressive loading, gradually strengthening the tendon and forearm muscles, as a central part of managing tennis elbow. The tendon adapts to what it’s asked to do, so the goal is to rebuild its tolerance rather than simply avoid using it.
It’s also worth knowing that tennis elbow can take months to fully settle, even with good management. Slow improvement is normal and doesn’t mean the approach isn’t working.
How Professional Treatment Can Help
Because tennis elbow behaves differently from a simple muscle strain, an accurate assessment matters. Elbow pain can also come from the neck, shoulder or nerve irritation, and treating the wrong source wastes time.
- Physiotherapy: Assesses the source of your pain and builds a progressive strengthening program for the tendon and forearm
- Remedial massage: May help ease tension in the forearm muscles that load the tendon
- Dry needling: May assist with persistent forearm trigger points
- Shockwave therapy: May be considered for stubborn cases that haven’t responded to initial treatment
- Chiropractic care: Assesses whether neck or shoulder mechanics are contributing to the load on your elbow
The right approach depends on how long you’ve had symptoms, what’s driving them and what your work or training demands, which is why an individual assessment comes first.
What You Can Do in the Meantime
While you’re waiting for an assessment, it can help to:
- Reduce, rather than completely stop, aggravating activities
- Break up long periods of gripping or typing with short rests
- Check your desk setup so your wrist isn’t working in an awkward position
- Avoid repeatedly testing the elbow to see if it still hurts
If pain is severe, follows a fall or injury, or comes with numbness or tingling into the hand, seek assessment promptly rather than waiting it out.
Tennis Elbow Care at Next Phase Injury Therapy
At Next Phase Injury Therapy in Yagoona, our physiotherapists, chiropractors and remedial massage therapists regularly work with tennis elbow in tradies, office workers and gym-goers alike.
We work with you to:
- Identify what’s actually driving your elbow pain
- Build a progressive loading program suited to your work and lifestyle
- Adjust your plan as the tendon adapts, so you can return to full activity
Elbow Pain Slowing You Down?
If gripping, lifting or typing has become a daily battle, an assessment can help you understand what’s going on and what to do about it.
Explore our physiotherapy, chiropractic, remedial massage and shockwave therapy services, or book an appointment with Next Phase Injury Therapy. We’re open 8am to 8pm, seven days a week. Yes, even Sundays.
References
- Coombes, Brooke K., et al. “A New Integrative Model of Lateral Epicondylalgia.” British Journal of Sports Medicine, vol. 43, no. 4, 2009, pp. 252–258, https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsm.2008.052738.
- Bisset, Leanne, et al. “Mobilisation with Movement and Exercise, Corticosteroid Injection, or Wait and See for Tennis Elbow: Randomised Trial.” BMJ, vol. 333, no. 7575, 2006, p. 939, https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.38961.584653.AE.
- Shiri, Rahman, et al. “Prevalence and Determinants of Lateral and Medial Epicondylitis: A Population Study.” American Journal of Epidemiology, vol. 164, no. 11, 2006, pp. 1065–1074, https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwj325.
- Smidt, Nynke, et al. “Corticosteroid Injections, Physiotherapy, or a Wait-and-See Policy for Lateral Epicondylitis: A Randomised Controlled Trial.” The Lancet, vol. 359, no. 9307, 2002, pp. 657–662, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(02)07811-X.
- Vaquero-Picado, Alfonso, et al. “Lateral Epicondylitis of the Elbow.” EFORT Open Reviews, vol. 1, no. 11, 2016, pp. 391–397, https://doi.org/10.1302/2058-5241.1.000049.
- Bisset, Leanne M., and Bill Vicenzino. “Physiotherapy Management of Lateral Epicondylalgia.” Journal of Physiotherapy, vol. 61, no. 4, 2015, pp. 174–181, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphys.2015.07.015.
Information on this page is general in nature and is not a substitute for individualised advice from a registered health practitioner. Our practitioners are registered with AHPRA.