Ice
As with any injury to the muscle or tendon, apply an ice pack to relieve pain from tennis elbow. It doesn't have to be anything complicated; simply put some ice into a lockable plastic bag and then cover the bag with paper towels. You can either hold the ice pack against your elbow with the other hand or place the bag flat and lay your elbow on it.
Rest and Check Your Technique
Rest the elbow as long as you can. Tennis elbow is an injury based on repetitive motion. Tennis players and golfers often develop it as a result of flawed technique, so a pro may be able to help you change the motion causing the injury or check out your racket to make sure it's not strung too tightly. Tennis elbow is often caused by repetitive motions you perform at work, and ergonomic devices can address the problem.
Medication
Take an anti-inflammatory pain reliever like ibuprofen or aspirin. Just make sure that you are not taking any other medication that reacts adversely with these anti-inflammatory medications.
Orthotics
If other treatments are not successful in treating tennis elbow, a doctor may suggest wearing some kind of orthotic device like a wrist brace. An orthotic device works on the principle of reducing the pain by immobilizing the muscles and the tendons through a counterforce. Do so only under the supervision of a doctor because you could wind up doing more harm than good.
Cortisone Injection
Cortisone injections are the next step in treating a severe case of tennis elbow. Injections are made directly at the site of the pain to reduce inflammation of the muscles and tendons. This is intended to reduce the pain but must be accompanied by a commitment to stopping the specific motions that caused the condition.
Surgery
Surgery is the final answer to chronic tennis elbow, but it is recommended only if the pain persists for at least six months with no other treatment engendering a positive effect. The surgery typically removes the inflamed tendon and replaces it with healthy tendon. Although it sounds like a major surgery, in many cases it is done as an outpatient procedure. Recovery and rehabilitation time vary according to the patient, but in most cases a full recovery is to be expected.
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