This condition is called tennis elbow because tennis players who are using the strong front-of-the-forearm (extensor) muscles have a common pain pattern. People who work at computers, clicking a mouse, typing, using a calculator, and making phone calls all day also experience tennis elbow pain. Others who may get tennis elbow pain include chefs, painters, pianists, and massage therapists.
Overuse, repetitive motions, and prolonged stress can cause the connective tissue and muscles of the forearm to get tight. These muscles attach both at the wrist and at the elbow. They help your fingers and back of your hands to lift upward (as in typing or playing the piano). When the muscles and tissues become tight they impinge the nerves and blood supply that passes through the elbow to the hand and fingers, causing tingling and numbness on the pinky side of the hand, muscle weakness, and loss of function.
Massage can be effectively combined with stretching, strengthening exercises, and self care to relieve or eliminate the pain of tennis elbow pain. The effects of deep tissue techniques used on the forearm extensor muscles (those muscles on the strong outside part of the forearm) include:
- the muscle and connective tissue tension is relieved;
- tissues, including muscle, then receive more oxygen;
- waste products that have accumulated in tissues are flushed out;
- muscle and connective tissue becomes more flexible;
- the ligament "bracelet" surrounding the wrist becomes more flexible;
- the carpal bones are less compressed; and
- pain is significantly decreased.