This information was sourced from Guardian.co.uk and I found it to be very helpful in describing the treatment options of tennis elbow. www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/besttreatments/tennis-elbow-description

Tennis elbow usually gets better by itself. But treatment may improve your symptoms more quickly. The sooner you give your elbow a chance to heal, the more likely your arm is to return to full strength.

• Only use your arm as much as
  the pain allows and avoid repeated twisting movements.
• You can try treating your elbow pain at home by applying an elbow ice pack
  , gently rubbing your elbow with an anti-inflammatory painkilling gel
  such as Ibuleve or taking a painkilling tablet, such as ibuprofen.
• You should see your doctor if your elbow isn't any better after a few weeks. But if you have a fever or your elbow is red and swollen you should see your doctor straight away.
• Steroid injections in your elbow will probably relieve the pain for a short while. But you may have more problems in the long run. You may want to wait and see if your elbow gets better by itself without treatment.
• A study has found that if you have physiotherapy for tennis elbow, you may need fewer painkillers. Physiotherapy works better in the long term than steroid injections.

We've looked closely at the research and ranked the treatments into categories, according to whether they work.

Treatments that are likely to work

NSAID gels, mousses and sprays

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are a type of painkiller. A summary of the research (a systematic review), which included three studies, found that gently rubbing an NSAID gel over your elbow improves your symptoms for up to a month.[1] But we don't know how long this benefit lasts. You can buy many brands of NSAID gels, mousses and sprays from a pharmacist. Brand names include Ibuleve (containing ibuprofen) and Volterol Emulgel (containing diclofenac). If they don't help, your doctor may prescribe a gel with a different painkiller or a higher dose.

Mild side effects (such as itching) are common.[2] But a cream or gel has fewer side effects than taking NSAID tablets.

NSAID tablets

One study has found that taking NSAID tablets may help with the pain in your elbow for a short time.[1] But we don't know how long the effects of these drugs last. We also don't know if taking NSAID tablets works better than an NSAID cream or gel. There hasn't been enough research to tell us.

You can buy some NSAIDs, such as low-dose diclofenac and ibuprofen, at a pharmacy. Or your doctor may prescribe you stronger painkillers, such as higher-dose diclofenac (brand names are Diclomax, Motifene,Voltarol), ketoprofen (Orudis, Oruvail) and naproxen (Naprosyn,Synflex).

You can get stomach pains and diarrhoea if you take NSAID pills.[1] And they can cause stomach ulcers.

Taking high doses of some NSAIDs every day for a long time can increase your risk of a heart attack or stroke. This isn't likely to be a problem if you take NSAIDs for a short time to treat pain. But if you'd like to read more, see Warnings about the side effects of NSAIDs.

Steroid injections

Three studies have found that steroid injections can reduce pain from tennis elbow over the following few weeks. You'll probably feel less pain and be able to use your arm more at first.[3] [4] [5] But steroid injections may not help in the long run and they may make you more likely to get tennis elbow in the future.

One study found that tennis elbow came back in about two-thirds of people who had injections. People who had physiotherapy rather than injections did better in the long term.[6]

Steroid injections usually contain one of these steroids:methylprednisolone, hydrocortisone or triamcinolone. The steroid is often combined with a local anaesthetic for your arm, so the injection is painless.

There is a small risk that steroid injections will cause your face to be flushed, some pain where you had the injection, or other skin problems.

Treatments that need further study

Acupuncture

Some people try acupuncture to relieve their elbow pain. Out of five good-quality studies, three found acupuncture helped people with tennis elbow for a short time. Two found it didn't help.[5] [1] [7] We need more research to know whether or not acupuncture works for tennis elbow.

Exercises

There are exercises you can do to strengthen your forearm muscles and avoid twisting movements. But we need more and better research to say whether or not exercises work for tennis elbow. It's best to ask aphysiotherapist for advice on what exercises to do.

Out of six studies, five found that exercise can reduce pain and allow you to grip without pain. But one study found exercises were not better than no treatment.[8] [9]

Another study looked at people with tennis elbow who were shown exercises and who had their elbow manipulated by a physiotherapist. It found that people who saw a physiotherapist felt better and were less likely to take painkillers than people who had no treatment. It also found that physiotherapy worked better in the long term than steroid injections.[6]

Arm braces

Wearing a brace around your forearm and elbow may help rest your tendon and give it a chance to heal. Braces can be made out of silicone, plastic or other materials. You can buy them in some pharmacies or sports shops. Or you can ask a physiotherapist or occupational therapist for help in getting a brace.

But there hasn't been enough research to say if an arm brace can make your elbow pain better.[10]

Surgery

There are operations to release the tension of your tendon if your tennis elbow doesn't get better and is severe. But we don't know how well surgery works for tennis elbow. There hasn't been any good research.[11]

Guardian.co.uk www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/besttreatments/tennis-elbow-description

• Pain in the bony area at the outside of the elbow (lateral epicondyle)
• Weakness in the wrist with difficulty doing simple tasks such as opening a door handle or shaking hands with someone.
• Pain when lifting an object
• Pain on the outside of the elbow when the hand is bent back.