Tennis elbow is a common name for the elbow condition clinically known as lateral epicondylitis. It is an overuse injury that causes inflammation and microtears of the tendons that attach to the lateral epicondyle. Tennis elbow is a painful condition occurring from repeated muscle contractions at the forearm.
The condition is more common in sports activities such as painting, hammering, typing, gardening, playing musical instruments, and of course, playing tennis! Tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow are very similar, except that golfer’s elbow occurs on the inside of the elbow while tennis elbow occurs on the outside of the elbow. Both conditions are a type of tendonitis, an inflammation of the tendons.