Tennis elbow, also known as “lateral epicondylitis”, is clinically characterized by localized pain on the outside(lateral side) of the elbow that may radiate to the forearm when doing internal rotation. There is an obvious tender point on the lateral epicondyle of the humerus, and sharp pain can occur when the point gets compressed. The grip and forearm may become weak, and the flexion and extension movement are normal with limited rotation activity. The pain occur when lifting or making a fist and rotating or , and it is generally asymptomatic in a resting state.
People with tennis elbow often feel weak to hold objects, such as lifting a hot water bottle, twisting a towel, or even sweeping the floor. In some cases, the pain is severe enough to make them unable to hold objects, and it may even aggravate when they reuse the arm after resting or being exposed to the coldness. As tennis players often swing their rackets backhand, it easily induce this disease if they do not exercise properly, so it is commonly known as “Tennis elbow”.
In the Lingshu Jing (Meridian Vessel-Miraculous Pivot), an ancient Chinese Medical classic, records that acupoint Quchi which is adjacent to the outer humerus is one of the important points of the Large Intestine Meridian of Hand Yangming, and its effect of regulating the flow of Qi to relieve pain shouldn’t be underestimated.
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM), Tennis elbow belongs to disease category “Bi syndrome 痹症”, which refers to pains of muscles and joints caused mainly by strain. Overuse of elbows and wrists can cause pain due to energy consumption, nourishment lose in the energy and blood, catching the wind or cold, and disharmony of the veins.
Among TCM’s treatments, acupuncture for Tennis elbow is widely used for the treatment of Tennis elbow. While pressing and massaging are another effective way for quickly relieving the pain of Tennis elbow.
The tender point of Tennis elbow is around acupoint Quchi which belongs to the joint point of Hand Yangming Meridian, pressing on the acupoint Quchi can supplement the deficiency of Wei Qi. Local pain and dysfunction at the elbow are mostly caused by blockage of qi and blood in the meridians, injury of tendons, and stagnation of blood stasis.
Acupoint Quchi has the functions of promoting circulation of qi and blood, relaxing tendons, dredging collaterals, and relieving pain. It also can regulate the qi mechanism of Yangming meridian, dredge meridians, circulate qi and blood, and achieve the balance of yin and yang.
Pressing & Massaging:
To press and massage acupoint Quchi with your thumb, and apply force downwards through repeatedly doing dots, pressure, and massage, until you feel the soreness, numb, swollen, and heavy. When massaging, it need to touch deeply the local skin and subcutaneous tissue. You can repeat the above actions about 10 minutes each time.
Course of treatment: Once every other day
Precautions: When doing scraping and massaging, it need to control the operation times, and the strength should not be too strong to prevent skin damage.
