Tennis Elbow Assessment & Diagnosis
Simple assessment process a therapist would go through to diagnose tennis elbow.
Assessment of any injury should include questions concerning the patients general health, previous injuries and current injury. The aim of these questions is to determine which structure may be causing the pain and what treatment is appropriate.
Tennis Elbow Assessment
The therapist will then perform a physical assessment to help determine which structures are causing the pain and what might have contributed to the development of the injury.
Palpation of the area
The therapist will usually palpate (feel) the area surrounding the lateral epicondyle, assessing areas of pain, tenderness and muscle tension.
Resisted wrist extension
In cases of tennis elbow, wrist extension (bending the wrist back) can be painful, and so to assess this symptom, the therapist will often provide resistance with their own hand for the patient to push against.
Resisted middle finger extension
Extending the middle finger alone is another test which is used to suggest tennis elbow is the cause of pain. The therapist applies resistance as the patient tries to extend their middle finger.
There are other tests which may be conducted, depending on the symptoms and the results of the tests above. These include the Mills maneuver and neural tension tests to determine if there is any neural involvement.
