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Which do you have—tennis elbow or carpal tunnel syndrome? Tennis elbow and carpal tunnel syndrome have similar symptoms. Both conditions can cause weakness in your hand or wrist movements, including your grip. However, the causes are very different, and some of the symptoms will help you to differentiate between the two.
If you are looking for a doctor to help treat nerve damage in your elbow, contact our orthopedic experts at Georgia Hand, Shoulder & Elbow today! Our elbow sports injury specialists in Marietta or Atlanta, Georgia, can provide you with the quality care you deserve.
Carpal tunnel syndrome affects the median nerve. The carpal tunnel is a passageway made up of ligaments and bone where the median nerve passes. It is located on the palm side of the wrist.
Certain factors can cause pressure to be exerted on the median nerve through the cubital tunnel. Pressure on the median nerve can cause symptoms such as weakness, numbness, or tingling in the hand or fingers (particularly the thumb and index finger).
Tennis elbow, also known as lateral epicondylitis, is a type of tendonitis at the elbow joint. Tennis elbow is usually caused by repetitive movements of the arm and wrist. The condition is not limited to tennis players but can also be found in professionals such as plumbers, carpenters, and painters.
If you have tennis elbow, you will usually feel pain where the tendons of your forearm muscles attach to a bony bump on the outside of your elbow. Pain can also spread into your forearm and wrist.
Tennis elbow and carpal tunnel syndrome can sometimes be misdiagnosed as one instead of the other. Some symptoms that the two conditions share in common include weakness in your hand or wrist.
In carpal tunnel syndrome, the weakness is due to an interference with the median nerve signals that control the thumb’s pinching muscles. With tennis elbow, the pain in the tendons may cause weakness in your grip.
With carpal tunnel symptoms, you may have numbness or tingling in your fingers or hand. The fingers usually affected are the thumb, index, middle, or ring finger. These fingers may experience a feeling like an electric shock.
With tennis elbow, you will experience a lot of pain in the elbow joint. This pain may travel down the outside of your elbow into your forearm and wrist.
Anything that irritates or causes pressure on the median nerve through the carpal tunnel may lead to carpal tunnel syndrome. This could include a wrist fracture or the swelling and inflammation caused by an autoimmune disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis. Other risk factors include obesity, pregnancy, and diabetes.
Anything that causes the repetitive straightening and lifting of your hand can cause tennis elbow. This could include performing a backhand in tennis with incorrect technique or plumbing, painting, and cutting ingredients while cooking.
Occupational therapists can provide you with an effective treatment plan without the need for tennis elbow surgery or carpal tunnel surgery, such as carpal tunnel release. These rehabilitation treatments can include the following:
If you need a specialist to help treat your elbow or wrist pain or address nerve damage, contact our orthopedic experts at Georgia Hand, Shoulder & Elbow today! Our expert doctors in Marietta and Atlanta, GA, look forward to helping you get back to doing the things that you love. Schedule your appointment today!
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Tennis elbow affects the tendons around the outer elbow joint, while carpal tunnel syndrome affects the median nerve in the wrist. The location of pain, numbness, and tingling helps doctors distinguish between them.
Yes. Some people, especially office workers or manual laborers, develop both due to repetitive motions and overuse of the arm and wrist.
Diagnosis typically includes a physical examination, reviewing your symptoms, and sometimes nerve conduction studies or imaging tests to rule out cervical radiculopathy and other causes.
Absolutely. Physical therapy, wrist splints, ice, rest, and NSAIDs can provide effective relief. Occupational therapy can also help modify activities to reduce pain and prevent recurrence.
If conservative treatments fail to relieve symptoms after several months, procedures like carpal tunnel release or tendon repair surgery may be recommended to reduce pressure and restore movement.
