TENNIS ELBOW.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 6311, 11 September 1907, Page 3

TENNIS ELBOW.

Nearly every form of sport is liable to give rise to some special surgical ibsion Caking the form either of a fracture of a bone or a tearing of some muscle or ligament. In most cases the lesion is definite and obvious, but in. the case of the tennis elbow the exact nature of the injury is somewhat obscure. It is highly probable that the lesion is not quit© the same in all cases, although there are certain signs common to ail. In most cases, says ‘‘The Hospital/' there is definite tenderness on pressure about the external condyle of the humerus, especially on the posterior aspect, and acuto pain is caused by any forcible and complete extension of the elbow. In some cases this pain is felt most sharply when the arm is extended and at the same time supinated, ae occurs when a low ball is struck in tennis. In these cases it is probable that the Injury has been inflicted in the effort to take such a ball. In other oases, again, the injury appears to bo caused by a forcible back-handed stroke, and it is this stroke in particular which causes most pain, and may give nso to a recurrence of the symptoms after they, hhve subsided. In these cases the for©-' arm is extended and pronated, and the extensor muscles of the arm and forearm are chiefly involved. Considering the position of the injury, it seems prol- - that in these cases the injury consists of a tearing of muscular fibres. Tennis elbow is a troublesome condition, very intractable to treatment, and liable to recur even after .prolonged rest.