Tennis elbow is the common name given to the pain and inflammation of the muscles and tendons in the area of the elbow. For those you are more comfortable with a hard to pronounce and medical sounding name, it is called lateral epicondylitis. To really get an appreciation of the reasons why acupuncture for tennis elbow relief is a very viable choice, you might consider the way that certain medical conditions are named in Western style medicine. The suffix ?itis? refers to an inflammation. The term epicondyle means a rounded protrusion of bone at the point where tendons and ligaments attach. This would be like the elbow. Therefore, epicondylitis simply means inflammation of the elbow.
This points out the Western approach to so many conditions. Even the name of the condition is merely a description of the symptom. Traditional Chinese Medicine is less concerned with the symptoms other than as a diagnostic tool to uncover the true cause of the condition. It is commonly assumed that tennis elbow syndrome is caused by an over use of the elbow. It is not exclusively found in tennis players or even athletes for that matter. Even office or production workers who use their arms frequently for lifting or other exertions are susceptible to it.
Acupuncture for tennis elbow relief is effective for several reasons. The big problem from a functional standpoint is actually the pain and discomfort level. The elbow still functions as it should. It just hurts when it does. Even acupuncture's most vehement critics reluctantly admit that it is useful in the alleviation of pain and inflammation. They have concocted a number of theories or guesses as to why this is true, but they do accept the truth of it.
The theory behind pain relief from the Traditional Chinese Medicine and acupuncturist's point of view is that pain is a signal that there is a blockage in the flow of qi through the various channels of the body. The pain from tennis elbow is not the true problem, but simply the alarm signal that a problem exists elsewhere. Restricting the treatment to the relief of the pain makes no more sense than dealing with a fire by turning off the fire alarm.
This is not to say that the acupuncturist does not recognize excessive use as a contributing factor. His view might be more that the body is capable of exertion and the elbow is an example of the wonderful and intricate engineering of the body. When pain develops as a result, something is amiss. Despite this, common sense and the holistic approach of acupuncture would dictate that restricting the use or modifying it would be part of the overall treatment plan.
