Tennis Elbow, or Lateral Epicondylitis, is the most common complaint for elbow pain. The causes of tennis elbow is still unclear, but it is thought to be due to small tears of the tendons which attach forearm muscles (wrist extensor group) to the arm bone at the elbow joint, repetitive use and degeneration. People between the ages of 35 and 65 years, who are manual labourers or sports participants, are mostly affected. Pain is usually felt over the outside of the elbow, especially during lifting and grasping, also cocking back the wrist.

Other causes of pain over the outside of the elbow include Elbow Instability, Elbow Arthritis, and Radial Tunnel Syndrome (RTS). RTS is also known as Resistive Tennis Elbow. The symptoms of RTS closely resemble Tennis Elbow , although it is caused by the compression of posterior interosseous nerve. This causes weakness of the muscles supplied by the nerve and pain over the elbow where the compression takes place (usually 4 cm beyond the bony prominence on the outside of the elbow).

Symptoms which indicate medical attention include elbow pain occurs at night or during rest, inability to carry objects or use the arm, swelling around the elbow joint and unresolved symptoms beyond a few days. Effective treatment would be tennis elbow brace, exercise, ergonomic advice. Physiotherapy , anti-inflammatory medication and injection can help alleviate the pain. For serious degeneration of the tendon, surgical repair may be indicated.