What is a sprain?
A sprain is an injury to a ligament. Ligaments are bands of tissue that connect one bone to another and are important holding joints together. Sprains occur when a ligament is overstitched (simple sprain) or torn (partial tear or complete tear). Common areas are the ankle, knee and wrist.

What is a strain?
A strain is an injury to a muscle or tendon. Tendons are bands of tissue that connect muscles to bones. Muscles and tendons provide support and stabilise joints. Strains occur when muscles and/or tendons are overstretched or torn and, as with sprains, a tear can be partial or complete areas commonly trained include the upper arm, elbow, thigh, knee, angle, abdomen and groin.

As with sprains and strains they are often common in people involved in sport. Activities such as gardening, manual labour and lifting heavy objects. The symptoms and treatment of a strain are similar to those described for sprains (see above).

What is a contusion?
A contusion is a bruise i.e. bleeding into the tissues without breaking the skin surface. As the blood pools around the injured area it discolours the tissue, making appear dark purple/black. Within a few days or weeks the blood in the bruised area is broken down by the body and changes colour, going from purple to green and then yellow.

Contusions are caused by an object hitting the body and they can occur in many situations such as gardening, building, cleaning etc. Also they are very common in playing contact sports such as football, rugby, judo, boxing, wrestling etc.

The symptoms of a contusion are pain and swelling and dependent on the severity of the injury. Most contusions are mild and responds to simple measures such as rest ice packs compression and elevation.

What is arthritis? Tennis elbow is the name given to pain occurring in the outside area of the elbow (also know as lateral elbow pain, rowing elbow and lateral epicondylitis).

Who gets tennis elbow?
Tennis elbow is one of the commonest arm lesions seen by doctors. It occurs in 1.3% of the population usually in men and women between the age of 40-60.

What are the causes of tennis elbow?
Tennis elbow is caused by damage to the tendon that joins the muscles in the lower arm (extensor muscles) to the bone of the upper arm (humerus). This tendon is anchored to the area of bone on the outside of the elbow (lateral epicondyle of the humerus). Tendon damage can occur in two ways 1] by a single episode of trauma e.g being hit on the arm or 2] by repeated overuse of the arm. Common activities that can result in tennis elbow include manual applications in building work, house maid/cleaners, car mechanics, gardening, sports activities focusing on repeated throwing, swimming, tennis or golf.

What are the common treatments for tennis elbow?
Symptoms tend to develop slowing and commonly occur in the arm of the dominant hand with the main symptom of pain in the outside area of the elbow although some people also have pain in the surrounding muscle areas. Grip in the hand is often reduced due to the pain which therefore reduces daily activities such as carrying shopping, working and using certain tools.

What treatment is available for tennis elbow?
If treated as soon as the symptoms appear the condition is more likely to heal quickly. Resting the arm is important but may difficult for many people particularly if their employment relies on its use. Mild cases of tennis elbow can be treated at home using ice pack, a brace or sling to support the arm and/or simple pain reliving medicines.

Moderate cases may require further treatment from the family doctor such as the prescription of stronger pain killers and/or referral for physical therapy. Physical therapy reduces pain and improves the muscle strength and includes therapeutic exercises, massage, ultrasound, heat therapy and low power laser light therapy. More severe cases of tennis elbow may require surgery.

Most cases of tennis elbow normally improve within a few weeks or months however prolonged pain and discomfort can occur in a minority of cases with symptoms lasting up to several years. Manual workers are particularly prone to have a recurrence of the condition as they tend to resume the work that caused the initial injury.

Treatment The BIOPTRON Light Therapy System is believed to reduce pain sensation in several ways. By improving local blood supply and reducing muscle spasm - reducing the release of chemicals that stimulate pain receptors (this is termed an anti-inflammatory effect) - inducing the release of the body's natural pain killing agents called endorphins - and a direct action on nerve fibers to prevent transmission of pain impulses to the brain. Therefore the application of BIOPTRON Light Therapy over the injured area e.g. the elbow helps reduce pain and discomfort.

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