7 Ways to Test for Tennis Elbow at Home and in the Office

A tennis elbow is medically known as lateral epicondylitis. Due to the condition’s name, many people may relate it to athletes, especially those playing tennis. However, this is not true. A chiropractor near LAX noted that tennis elbow can also affect people of other professions.

The occupation of a person can put them at risk of getting the condition. These include occupations that put repetitive stress on the elbow, like painting, carpentry, and plumbing. Car accident victims are also seen walking into clinics for physical therapy for auto accidents near LAX to seek tennis elbow treatment. Bodybuilders who occasionally lift weight also comprise the majority of people who conduct ‘best physical therapists near me’ searches.

7 Ways to Test For a Tennis Elbow

The condition involves the inflammation of the tendon around the elbow. It occurs due to repetition in the motion of the elbow. The condition can be excruciating and usually restricts motion of the elbow. You can suspect a tennis elbow when you notice tennis elbow symptoms such as swelling, pain, and elbow tenderness.

Sometimes, the symptoms are insufficient to indicate that you have a tennis elbow. This is why any physical therapist you find through the best physical therapists near me will recommend some tests to confirm the condition. They include:

1. Lifting a chair.
   Physical therapists near LAX recommend fully extending your elbow when trying to lift the back of a chair using three fingers; the index finger, the long finger, and the thumb.
2. Palpating.
   This involves touching the elbow. You need to extend your hand and touch the elbow muscles. Palpating should preferably be the first test you conduct.
3. Resistance of the middle finger.
   With the palm facing outwards, raise your arm. In that position, try forcing the middle finger to align differently from the second arm. Any stress on the extensor digitorum muscles and the tendon is an indication of tennis elbow.
4. Grasping a coffee cup.
   Try grasping a cup of coffee and rate your pain level.
5. Cozen’s test.
   Physical therapy for auto accidents near LAX requires that you do this test with a doctor. In this test, you need to make a fist after extending the affected arm to your front. The forearm then needs to be rotated inward, and the wrist bent toward the forearm. The doctor then examines your lateral epicondyle while restricting any movement your hand makes.
6. Mill’s test.
   This needs to be conducted when you are seated. The physician will pronate your forearm while examining the lateral epicondyle.
7. Resistance.
   Stretch your arm with the palm facing downwards. Position your opposite hand at the rear of the extended one. Press the upper hand into your lower one and bend the lower wrist backward. Pressing the upper hand against the lower one will create some resistance.

Tennis Elbow Treatment

Physical therapists near LAX can handle tennis elbow conditions to improve the performance of the elbow. This is because physical therapy near LAX helps manage the condition. A chiropractor near LAX recommends specific physical therapy exercises to help strengthen the elbow as it heals. In many patients with tennis elbow, physical therapy near LAX should be combined with rest and other measures like compression with ice.