If you experience pain on the outer side of your elbow while trying to grab any small object like a pen or your glasses, or if you feel pain on the outer side of your elbow when cocking back your wrist, it can very well be that you have tennis elbow.
Another tell-tale sign that you are experiencing tennis elbow symptoms is experiencing tenderness on your elbow. If you have all the symptoms described here, chances are you are dealing with a condition called tennis elbow, but you can only be sure if you contact your family physician. Resting your elbow is probably the best you can do in the beginning but if the pain insists for a few days you should really find a professional for your problems.
CTS, also known as carpal tunnel syndrome is easily mistaken for tennis elbow but is a very different syndrome. So the only way to ensure yourself you are in fact dealing with tennis elbow is to consult professional help. There is another problem though, x-rays of tennis elbow sufferers turn out normal most of the time, so even for a professional it is hard to get the right diagnosis.
Rest, anti-inflammatory drugs and painkillers are normally prescribed. Another thing that could help is to ice the area that hurts most. Even though this might take care of the problem for now, you are likely to experience your tennis elbow symptoms from coming back in time. This makes it so important to deal with the underlying cause.
If you really want to get rid of your tennis elbow symptoms once and for all, you should look into finding a way to deal with the cause. Tennis elbow flares up because the muscles and tendons in your forearm are not properly prepared for the work you want them to do day in and day out.
By learning some simple to perform exercises you are likely taking matters in your own hands and ensuring yourself that your tennis elbow symptoms will not return in the future. And if by chance they do, there are some specific tennis elbow exercises that will give you some almost instant pain relief!