Acupuncture for elbow tendinitis
Overused forearm tendons turn everyday gripping into a sharp, nagging pain. Acupuncture targets the tendon and the muscles pulling on it.
Tennis elbow (lateral) and golfer's elbow (medial) are overuse injuries of the forearm tendons where they attach at the elbow. Despite the names, most cases come from work, lifting, or repetitive gripping, not sport.
The tendon has a poor blood supply, so once it is irritated it heals slowly. That is where acupuncture fits: it brings circulation back to the tissue that needs it.
Symptoms we treat
If any of these sound like your experience, acupuncture is worth a conversation. This isn't a diagnosis, your first visit is.
Why acupuncture works here
Three layers at once, local, segmental, and central, chosen for what your body is asking for.
From first visit to plan
Every patient gets the same unhurried four-beat rhythm, the first visit includes a consultation.
The clinical picture
Lateral and medial epicondylitis, better known as tennis elbow and golfer's elbow, cause pain and inflammation around the elbow when the forearm muscles and tendons are overused. The nicknames are misleading. You don't have to play a sport to get either one, just repeat the same arm, wrist, or hand motion often enough.
- Lateral Epicondylitis (Tennis Elbow): Pain is centered on the outer (lateral) side of the elbow, caused by overuse of the extensor muscles that straighten the wrist and fingers.
- Medial Epicondylitis (Golfer's Elbow): Pain occurs on the inner (medial) side of the elbow, caused by overuse of the flexor muscles that bend the wrist and fingers.
Both conditions come mainly from overuse. Repetitive wrist or arm movement, tennis, golf, painting, typing, or manual labor, leaves tiny tears in the tendons around the elbow. Fatigue makes it worse: as the same motion is repeated, form slips, and poor posture or technique, an awkward grip, a bad swing, loads the tendons even harder. Age plays a part too. Tendons lose flexibility and strength over time, which is why the injury shows up most often between 30 and 50.
The most common symptoms of lateral and medial epicondylitis include the following.
- Pain or burning sensation around the elbow, which may radiate to the forearm or wrist.
- Weak grip strength, making it difficult to hold or lift objects.
- Stiffness and tenderness around the elbow joint.
- Worsening pain during activities like lifting, gripping, twisting, or typing.
- Swelling or mild inflammation in severe cases.
At Korean Acupuncture & Wellness Clinic, our first priority in treating lateral and medial epicondylitis is getting the affected muscles working again. When a muscle is overused, its fibers stay contracted and lose their give, so it feels stiff and painful the moment you try to move. Acupuncture using IMEAST (Intramuscular Electroacupuncture Stimulation Treatment) goes straight to the injured muscles, tendons, and ligaments to ease the pain, settle the inflammation, and bring blood flow back to the damaged tendon so it can heal.
肘 elbow
Read ju in Korean. Hanja are learned meaning first, then sound, so this one is 팔꿈치 주.