Abstract
Tennis elbow, or lateral epicondylitis, is an overuse tendinopathy of the lateral wrist extensor muscles where they insert at the elbow. This condition occurs most commonly in adults between 30 and 50 years, with risk factors including repetitive use of the elbow, tobacco use, and other hand issues such as carpal tunnel syndrome and deQuervain’s tenosynovitis. The etiology is not clearly understood, but microvascular trauma, cutaneous nerve injury, and friction wear of the extensor carpi radialis brevis (ECRB) have all been proposed.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Allander E. Prevalence, incidence, and remission rates of some common rheumatic diseases or syndromes. Scand J Rheumatol. 1974;3:145–53.
Alredson H, Ljung B-O, Thorsen K, et al. In vivo investigations of ECRB tendons with microdialysis technique-no signs of inflammation but high amounts of glutmate in tennis elbow. Acta Orthop Scand. 2000;71:475–9.
Bales CP, Placzek JD, Malone KJ, Vaupel Z, Arnoczky SP. Microvascular supply of the lateral epicondyle and common extensor origin. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2007;16:497–503.
Balk ML, Hagberg WC, Buterbaugh GA, Imbriglia JE. Outcome of surgery for lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow): effect of worker’s compensation. Am J Orthop. 2005;34(3):122–6.
Berry N, Neumeister MW, Russell RC, Dellon AL. Epicondylectomy versus denervation for lateral humeral epicondylitis. HAND. 2011;6(2):174–8.
Bunata Robert E, Brown DS, Capelo R. Anatomic factors related to the cause of tennis elbow. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2007;89:1955–63.
Calfee RP, Patel A, Dasilva MF, Akelman E. Management of lateral epicondylitis: current concepts. J Am Acad Orthop Surg. 2008;16:19–29.
Carp L. Tennis elbow caused by radiohumeral bursitis. Arch Surg. 1932;24:905–22.
Dellon AL, Kim J, Ducic I. Painful neuroma of the posterior cutaneous nerve of the forearm after surgery for lateral humeral epicondylitis. J Hand Surg Am. 2004;29(3):387–90.
Dimberg L. The prevalence and causation of tennis elbow (lateral humeral epicondylitis) in a population of workers in an engineering industry. Ergonomics. 1987;30(3):573–9.
Faro F, Wolf JM. Lateral epicondylitis: review and current concepts. J Hand Surg. 2007;8:1271–7.
Giangarra CE, Conroy B, Jobe FW, et al. Electromyographic and cinematographic analysis of elbow function in tennis players using single-and double-handed backhand strokes. Am J Sports Med. 1993;21:394–9.
Grewal R, MacDermid JC, Shah P, King GJ. Functional outcome of arthroscopic extensor carpi radialis brevis tendon release in chronic lateral epicondylitis. J Hand Surg Am. 2009;34(5):849–57.
Haahr JP, Andersen JH. Physical and psychosocial risk factors for lateral epicondylitis: a population based case-referent study. Occup Environ Med. 2003;60:322–9. doi:10.1136/oem.60.5.322.
Hatch GF III, Pink MM, Mohr KJ, et al. The effect of tennis racket grip size on forearm muscle firing patterns. Am J Sports Med. 2006;34:1977–83.
Hennig EM, Rosenbaum D, Milani TL. Transfer of tennis racket vibrations onto the human forearm. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1992;24:1134–40.
Jobe FW, Ciccotti CM. Lateral and medial epicondylitis of the elbow. J Am Acad Orthop Surg. 1994;2:1–8.
Kelley JD, Lombardo SJ, Pink M, Perry J, Giangarra CE. Electromyographic and cinematographic analysis of elbow function in tennis players with lateral epicondylitis. Am J Sports Med. 1994;22:359–63.
Kitaie E, Itay S, Ruder A, Engel J, Modan M. An epidemiological study of lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow) in amateur male players. Ann Chir Main Memb Super. 1986;5:113–21.
Laban MM, Iyer R, Tamler MS. Occult periarthrosis of the shoulder: a possible progenitor of tennis elbow. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2005;84:895–8.
Lanz T, Wachsmuth W. Praktische anatomie. Berlin: Springer; 1959.
Li FX, Fewtrell D, Jenkins M. String vibration dampers do not reduce racket frame vibration transfer to the forearm. J Sports Sci. 2004;22:1041–52.
Ljung B-O, Forsfren S, Frieden J. Substance P and calcitonin gene related peptide expression at the extensor carpi radialis brevis mucle origin: implications for the etiology of tennis elbow. J Orthop Res. 1999;17:554–9.
McVay CB. Surgical anatomy, vol 2, 6th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders; 1984.
Morrey BF. The elbow and its disorders, 4th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders; 2009.
Nirschl RP, Ashman ES. Elbow tendi-nopathy: tennis elbow. Clin Sports Med. 2003;22:813–6.
Nirschl RP, Pettrone FA. Tennis el-bow: the surgical treatment of lateral epicondylitis. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1979;61:832–9.
Runge F. Zur genese und behandlung des schreibekramfes. Berl Klin Wochenschr. 1873;10:245.
Schneeberger AG, Masquelet AC. Arterial vascularization of the prioximal extensor carpi radialis brevis tendon. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2002;46:3–12.
Shiri R, Viikari-Juntura E, Varonen H, Heliovaara M. Prevalent and determinants of lateral and medial epicondylitis: a population study. Am J Epidemiol. 2006;164(11):1065–74.
Smith RW, Papadopolous E, Mani R, Cawley MI. Abnormal microvascular responses in a lateral epicondylitis. Br J Rtheumatol. 1994;33:1166–8.
Stroede CL, Noble L, Walker HS. The effect of tennis racket string vibration dampers on racket handle vibrations and discomfort following impacts. J Sports Sci. 1999;17:379–85.
Titchener AG, Fakis A, Tambe AA, Smith C, Hubbard RB, Clark DI. Risk factors in lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow): a case-control study. J Hand Surg Eur Vol. 2013;38:159–64.
Verhaar JA. Tennis elbow: anatomical, epidemiological and therapeutic aspects. Int Orthop. 1994;18:263–7.
Walker-Bone K, Palmer KT, Reading I, Coggon D, Cooper C. Occupation and epicondylitis: a population-based study. Rheumatology. 2012;51:305–10.
Wolf JM, Mountcastle S, Burks R, Sturdivant RX, Owens BD. Epidemiology of lateral and medial epicondylitis in a military population. Mil Med. 2010;175(5):336–9 (4).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Winston, J., Wolf, J. (2015). Tennis Elbow: Definition, Causes, Epidemiology. In: Wolf, J. (eds) Tennis Elbow. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7534-8_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7534-8_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-7533-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-7534-8
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)