Tennis elbow and the cervical spine

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Neurology
• Pain Management

Background:

• Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) is common, but its exact cause remains unclear.
• Local elbow treatments often fail for persistent cases.
• This suggests a potential non-local origin for some tennis elbow symptoms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if cervical spine radiculopathy could be the underlying cause of treatment-resistant tennis elbow.
• To correlate clinical, radiologic, and electromyographic findings with cervical spine abnormalities.

Main Methods:

• Study included 50 patients with tennis elbow resistant to 4 weeks of local elbow treatment.
• Clinical examination focused on muscular tenderness at motor points.
• Radiologic and electromyographic studies assessed the cervical spine.
• Treatment was directed at the cervical spine.

Main Results:

• Pain was localized as muscular tenderness at specific motor points.
• Clinical, radiologic, and electromyographic findings supported a cervical spine origin.
• Cervical spine treatment relieved pain in the majority of patients.
• Treatment resistance correlated with severity of cervical spine findings.

Conclusions:

• Cervical spine radiculopathy may be a significant underlying cause of tennis elbow in some patients.
• Targeting cervical spine treatment can be effective for refractory tennis elbow.
• Further investigation into the neuro-musculoskeletal connections is warranted.