Tennis Elbow: Can Acupuncture Help?

You don’t have to play tennis to get tennis elbow.

We see it pretty often at the clinic, especially in people who use their hands and arms a lot. It can show up after a new workout routine, a weekend of gardening or home projects, hours at a computer, or simply doing the same movement over and over. Sometimes you know exactly what started it. Other times, your elbow just seems to decide it has had enough.

Tennis elbow, also called lateral epicondylitis or lateral elbow tendinopathy, causes pain around the outside of the elbow. You might notice it when gripping, lifting, turning a doorknob, shaking hands, or using your wrist, and some people also experience weakness or pain that travels down the forearm.

What causes tennis elbow?

Despite the name, tennis elbow isn't limited to athletes. It's usually related to repeated stress on the muscles and tendons that attach to the outside of the elbow. Over time, those tissues can become irritated, particularly when they're being asked to do more than they're used to.

That can make tennis elbow especially frustrating because the movements that aggravate it are often part of everyday life. The things you need to do for work, exercise, or around the house can be the very things that keep your elbow from settling down.

Can acupuncture help tennis elbow?

Acupuncture can be a helpful part of treatment for tennis elbow, particularly when pain has lingered or you are trying to get back to your normal activities.

Research on acupuncture for lateral elbow pain has found some encouraging results. A 2021 systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials found that acupuncture was associated with improvements in pain, disability, and strength, with the strongest effects generally seen in the short term.

A more recent systematic review of non-invasive treatments for lateral elbow tendinopathy also found that acupuncture may help reduce disability in the short term, although the researchers rated the certainty of that evidence as low and noted that more high-quality research is needed.

Overall, there is encouraging evidence that acupuncture can help with pain and function, and it can be a useful tool when your elbow is making everyday activities harder than they should be.

What does acupuncture do for tennis elbow?

From a Chinese medicine perspective, we are not just looking at the painful spot on your elbow.

We may use acupuncture points around the elbow and forearm, along with points elsewhere on the body depending on what we find during your treatment. We look at things like where the pain is located, what movements make it worse, how long it has been bothering you, and what else is going on with your body.

Sometimes the elbow is the obvious problem. Sometimes there is more contributing to the pain than the elbow itself.

Acupuncture may help reduce pain and improve movement while the irritated tissues have a chance to recover. Depending on the person and the presentation, we may also use techniques such as cupping, gua sha, or moxibustion as part of treatment.

And if something about your daily routine is continuing to aggravate the elbow, we can talk about that, too. Acupuncture works a lot better when we are not asking your body to heal while you keep doing the exact thing that is making it angry.

How long does tennis elbow take to heal?

There is no universal timeline. Some cases improve fairly quickly once the irritation is addressed and the aggravating activity is modified. Others can hang around for months, especially when the elbow continues to be used heavily or when the original cause is not obvious.

That is one reason it can be helpful to address tennis elbow sooner rather than simply hoping it will disappear.

If your elbow pain is persistent, severe, associated with significant weakness, or started after an injury, it is also a good idea to have it evaluated by a medical professional so you can make sure there is not another underlying issue.

Acupuncture for tennis elbow in Charleston

If tennis elbow is keeping you from playing your favorite sport, working comfortably, exercising, or just getting through your normal day without thinking about your elbow every five minutes, acupuncture is worth considering!

At Balance, we use acupuncture and Chinese medicine to help with pain and a wide range of musculoskeletal concerns. Treatment is based on what we find in your individual presentation rather than simply treating every case of tennis elbow the same way.

You don't have to wait until the pain is unbearable to do something about it. If your elbow has been complaining for a while, we're happy to help you figure out what might be contributing to it and whether acupuncture is a good fit for you.