Tennis elbow doesn’t only afflict athletes. The condition, also known as lateral epicondylitis, can sting even if you’ve never set foot on the court.

In fact, it can affect everyone from tennis players to people who spend all day at a desk. Repeated gripping, lifting and other everyday activities can strain the tendons around the elbow, causing a nagging, tender sensation outside of the elbow.

“It’s a very common degenerative condition,” said sports medicine physician Dr. Simon Moskowitz of Novant Health Orthopedics & Sports Medicine - Kernersville. “The good news is most people with tennis elbow tend to get better on their own. Our goal is to help speed up the process, minimize how painful or disruptive it is, and hopefully decrease the risk of the condition coming back.”

And while you don’t have to be an athlete to feel it, half of tennis players develop tennis elbow due to overuse or an improper swinging technique.

Moskowitz treats athletes of all ages and skill levels, and serves as medical director of athletics at High Point University, where he works alongside athletic trainers taking care of student athletes.

Here, he clarifies common concerns about tennis elbow.

How common is tennis elbow?

I put it up there within the same category as arthritis. As long as people are active, there will be some wear and tear, the same way that car parts wear out. Tennis elbow is one of the more common things we see.

What are the earliest signs of tennis elbow, and at what point should you get medical care?

Typically the first thing you notice is a mild ache or even a burning feeling on the outside of the elbow. It’s usually noticeable after doing an activity that involves a lot of gripping, such as tennis, pickleball or lifting weights. It usually gets better in the first 24 hours. But if the pain persists for a few weeks and interferes with work or sleep, that’s when I would recommend an evaluation with either your primary care physician or a specialist.

What hobby or activity puts the most strain on your elbows?

Unfortunately, tennis elbow does not discriminate. But typically, anything that involves your hand or wrist moving backward. We see it in a lot of people who lift weights because of all the gripping, and we see it a lot in racket sports because of the backhand motion and forced extension through the wrist.

Can my laptop give me tennis elbow?

Yes, it can happen to someone who works a desk job just as easily as someone who opens a lot of bottles or jars. But we see it more in athletes who are overdoing it. Tennis elbow is an overuse injury that can come on quickly and is more of an inflammatory process.

How can you tell the difference between tennis elbow and other elbow injuries?

It can be challenging. That dull, achy pain on the outside part of the elbow usually indicates tennis elbow. If your range of motion is limited, or you’re noticing swelling, numbness or tingling, it’s worth getting checked out. Taking a closer look is the only way we can know if it’s something that mimics tennis elbow instead.

What are common treatments for tennis elbow? Do devices like braces and straps really work?

There are so many good options, the first being rest and modifying activity. Depending on the patient, I may recommend a short wrist brace to prevent movement and take some stress off the muscles in the elbow. If we can get those muscles to settle down, that usually improves tennis elbow. A counterforce brace or strap is another option, though these can make the symptoms worse for some patients. The best option is to talk with a primary care sports medicine doctor or orthopedic specialist.

When should people consider platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections as an option?

I would say it’s the step before the last resort. I recommend it for people who aren’t getting better on their own. For all the things PRP is used for, it’s helpful for tennis elbow because it targets the degenerative process. PRP can help speed up your body’s healing, as opposed to steroid injections, and also helps with the pain over time. A lot of people get better with a really good exercise program that targets tennis elbow. As a last resort, there are some surgical approaches, but those would be for people who are really struggling and have exhausted other options.

Do certain exercises help with the prevention or treatment of tennis elbow?

Prevention is hard, because it’s difficult to predict who’s going to get tennis elbow. It’s not like every tennis player gets tennis elbow. But if you’re going to start a new activity or exercise, especially one that involves a lot of gripping or lifting, make sure to increase that activity gradually. Don’t jump right in and try to max out an exercise. Ease into that over several weeks. That can help prevent rapid overuse and minimize some of that pain. If you don’t give your body time to catch up, you can run into poor tendon healing, which eventually leads to tennis elbow.

The cornerstone of treatment is rehab: physical therapy and activity modification. These are designed to guide patients through eccentric exercises (exercises that lengthen muscles) for chronic tennis elbow. Staying with it can prevent the need for injections or surgery.

If you could give people one piece of advice for protecting their elbows, what would it be?

Take your time with things. You know your body’s limits, so respect rest and recovery. Our body does a phenomenal job healing itself. It’s when we don’t give it enough time to do what it wants to do that we run into issues. The idea is to keep moving, which helps address not only tennis elbow, but all injuries.