Question

My husband has extreme pain in his left elbow. The outer bone on top of the elbow is extremely painful. It is hard for him to hold onto anything in his hand. His forearm does not bother him, though. The bone on his elbow also is very warm. He has a hard time if he has to straighten out his arm. His elbow cracks all the time too. He says he can feel the difference in his hands. Could this be tendonitis, maybe?

Answer

Tennis elbow, called lateral epicondylitis, is the name for a condition in which the bony bump at the outer side of the elbow is painful and tender. The elbow joint is made up of the bone in the upper arm (humerus) and one of the bones in the lower arm (ulna). The bony widenings at the bottom of the humerus on each side are called epicondyles. The bump on the outer side of the elbow, to which some forearm muscles are attached by tendons, is called the lateral epicondyle. Lateral epicondylitis can also be referred to as wrist extensor tendonitis.

Tennis elbow results from overusing the muscles in your forearm that straighten and raise your hand and wrist. When these muscles are overused, the tendons are repeatedly tugged at their points of attachment on the lateral epicondyle. As a result, the tendons become inflamed. Repeated tiny tears in the tendon tissue cause pain. Among the activities that can cause tennis elbow are tennis and other racket sports, carpentry, machine work, typing, and knitting. The symptoms of tennis elbow are:

* pain or tenderness on the outer side of the elbow

* pain when you straighten or raise your wrist and hand

* pain made worse by lifting a heavy object

* pain when you make a fist, grip an object, shake hands, or turn door handles

* pain that shoots from the elbow down into the forearm or up into the upperarm.

Your husband should be examined by an orthopedic surgeon to make sure if he has tennis elbow or another problem. There are effective treatments for tennis elbow, but correct diagnosis should precede attempts at treatment.