The diagnosis for Tennis Elbow is based mostly on symptoms.
Whether your doctor says you have Lateral Epicondylitis, Elbow Tendonitis or the common term of Tennis Elbow, this diagnosis is nearly always based on the simple description of your Tennis Elbow symptoms.
It may include palpating (feeling) around your elbow and if there is an especially tender / painful spot right at or just below that knob of bone on the outside of your elbow (your Lateral Epicondyle) that’s considered a positive sign.
And there are two simple muscle resistance tests:
1 – Wrist Extension Test For Tennis Elbow
The most common test is to try to extend your wrist – or wrist and fingers – against resistance (take the wrist backward, as in the opposite of gripping) and if this is painful, particularly right at the outer elbow, it’s considered a positive sign of Tennis Elbow.
2- Wrist Supination Test For Tennis Elbow
This test is a twisting motion involving turning your hand palm up against resistance (from palm down to palm up) especially with your elbow straightened rather than bent – If that causes pain toward or at your outer elbow it’s also considered a positive sign of Tennis Elbow.
If one or both of these are painful it’s not conclusive, though! It could still be a sign of temporary muscle fatigue, over load and weakness.
But if it doesn’t get better or if you’ve already been having symptoms for several weeks or months, whether on and off or more or less continuously, than that tends to suggest Tennis Elbow.
I have what would probably be considered a mild case of elbow pain, entailing the occasional wince if I don’t lift something carefully and soreness and stiffness that come and go. (When I’m feeling stubborn I do things I probably shouldn’t do, like swing kettlebells or dig in the garden.)
I feel fairly confident that the injury originated with regularly and hurriedly lifting a fatbike before mounting stairs, using a motion that could be described as half bicep curl, half hip hinge. I used a supinated grip and definitely put more strain on the now-affected arm than the other. I first noticed the nagging pain in the middle of winter, at least a few months ago.
What are the chances that I should get an official diagnosis to rule out other causes of pain, such as arthritis, before purchasing your program? The elbow does make a small clicking right before full extension.
Thanks for any thoughts!
Hi Eric, as I said in my email directly to you earlier this month, (so this is mainly for anyone else with the same or similar questions)
I really should not advise you about whether you should get a medical diagnosis or not. That’s a risky place for me to be in. However, I can tell you that if you’ve already done your due diligence and you think you probably have Tennis Elbow, people tend to be right about that and Arthritis as a cause of elbow pain is on the rarer side.
In the program I have a lot of elbow-related techniques that address a lot of issues beyond just Tennis and Golfer’s Elbow… And if you get the course and find that it doesn’t seem to apply to you, then please just hit me up for a refund (within the 90 days, of course.)
Update: And thank you for joining, by the way. I hope you’re doing well!