Tennis Elbow

Tennis elbow is an injury that causes pain and inflammation in your elbow. It’s usually a repetitive strain injury.

Repetitive strain injuries happen when you use a part of your body to repeatedly do the same kind of motion so often that it damages your tissue.

Tennis elbow gets its name from being a common sports injury for people who play tennis or other racket sports. It happens when you overuse the tendon that connects your forearm muscles to your elbow (your extensor muscle tendon).

The medical term for tennis elbow is lateral epicondylitis. Epicondylitis is inflammation in the extensor muscle tendon. Lateral epicondylitis means the inflammation is on the lateral side — the outside edge when you hold your arms at your sides with your palms facing forward, the same direction as your eyes.

Any motion that makes you grip or twist and swing your forearm often can cause tennis elbow. Visit a healthcare provider if you have an elbow injury or feel pain that doesn’t get better on its own in a week. Seeing a provider as soon as the pain starts can increase your treatment options (and how well they work).

How common is tennis elbow?

Tennis elbow is one of the most common causes of elbow pain. Experts estimate that around 3% of all people in the U.S. experience tennis elbow each year.

Even though it’s named for tennis, experts estimate that more than 90% of people who have tennis elbow don’t develop it from playing tennis or other sports.