The Ergonomic Physio
  • Home
  • About
  • Services
    • Ergonomics >
      • Individual Ergonomic Assessments
      • Office Ergonomic Sweeps
      • Ergonomics Workshops (Employee Education)
      • Ergonomic Assessment Training
      • Online Ergonomic Assessments
      • Home Office Ergonomic Assessments
      • Ergonomic Office Equipment Advice
    • Manual Handling >
      • Manual Handling Training
      • Manual Handling Risk Assessment
      • Manual Handling Training Video
  • Ergonomic Chairs
  • Contact
  • Quote
  • Home
  • About
  • Services
    • Ergonomics >
      • Individual Ergonomic Assessments
      • Office Ergonomic Sweeps
      • Ergonomics Workshops (Employee Education)
      • Ergonomic Assessment Training
      • Online Ergonomic Assessments
      • Home Office Ergonomic Assessments
      • Ergonomic Office Equipment Advice
    • Manual Handling >
      • Manual Handling Training
      • Manual Handling Risk Assessment
      • Manual Handling Training Video
  • Ergonomic Chairs
  • Contact
  • Quote
Search by typing & pressing enter

YOUR CART

Ergonomic Elbow Pain

The main form of elbow pain often associated with poor office ergonomics, is lateral epicondylalgia, also known as tennis elbow.  
​

Lateral Epicondylalgia

Lateral epicondylalgia is certainly a mouthful to pronounce. Fortunately it also goes by another name which is far more commonly known, and that is tennis elbow. For ease of writing and reading, I will refer to lateral epicondylalgia as tennis elbow from now on.
Tennis elbow refers to pain around the lateral, or outside, of the elbow, where the forearm muscles attach to the elbow joint.

It is generally caused by an overuse of the forearm muscles, which causes irritation to their attachment point, and degeneration of the forearm muscle tendon. When caused by poor office ergonomics, it is usually seen on the side of the body that controls the mouse. In this sense, it is often caused by excessive clicking of the mouse. Think of it like an RSI (repeated stress injury).
​
Tennis elbow
Lateral Epicondylalgia or Tennis Elbow
However, not everyone who clicks a mouse develops tennis elbow. There are often other musculoskeletal issues that increase your chances of developing the tennis elbow. 

For instance, tightness through the neck and irritation of the nerves that leave the neck and travel down the arm, are very often associated with tennis elbow.

This means that short of not using a mouse at all, which is not practical for any office worker (or for me in the writing of this article), there are other things that you can be doing to prevent tennis elbow from occurring, as well as treating it if it has already developed. 

​What does this involve? Well, the first thing you need to do is to make sure that your workstation is ergonomically friendly.
Have a read of the pages on neck pain and shoulder pain to see the impact that poor office ergonomics has on these regions. As mentioned above, neck tightness and irritation to the cervical nerves often contribute to the development of tennis elbow. As such, you need to address these issues to prevent and treat tennis elbow. And this starts with the overall ergonomics of your workstation, with particular attention being paid to your chair and computer screen height. 
​
​
ergonomic mouse
Ergonomic Mouse
If you do have tennis elbow, an ergonomic mouse may be indicated. Compared to a regular mouse, an ergonomic mouse changes the position that you keep your forearm in when using the mouse. In a nutshell, an ergonomic mouse places less stress on the outside of the elbow, where tennis elbow develops.

However, if you get an ergonomic mouse, and don't address the rest of your workstation ergonomics, particularly the chair and the computer screen height, it is unlikely your symptoms will improve in the long-term.
An ergonomic assessment is indicated in cases of tennis elbow for three main reasons:
  1. An ergonomic assessment will ensure that any other contributing factors to your tennis elbow are addressed.
  2. Your assessor will be able to let you know if you do actually need an ergonomic mouse, potentially saving you money on purchasing an expensive piece of equipment that you don't need.
  3. An ergonomic assessment will allow a professional to advise you whether or not you need physiotherapy treatment to help treat your tennis elbow. They can then refer to you an appropriate physio near your location.


back to ergonomic resources
Picture
ABN: 97 616 957 469
​

​P: (03) 9088 2003
E: [email protected]

Specialists in workplace ergonomic assessments, employee injury prevention education, and manual handling training. 
Information 

​​Home
About
Key Services
​Get a Quote
Ergonomic Chairs Melbourne
Terms and Conditions

Contact Us



Key Services

Ergonomic Assessments
Ergonomic Office Sweeps
Ergonomic Workshops (Employee Education)
Ergonomic Assessment Training
Online Ergonomic Assessments
Home Office Ergonomic Assessments
Manual Handling Training
Ergonomic Office Chairs

​
Ergonomic Assessments - Ergonomic Assessment Melbourne | Ergonomic Assessment Sydney | Ergonomic Assessment Canberra | Ergonomic Assessment Bendigo | Ergonomic Assessment Geelong | Ergonomic Assessment Ballarat | Ergonomic Assessment Gippsland | Ergonomic Assessment Shepparton | Ergonomic Assessment Echuca Moama | Ergonomic Assessment Albury Wodonga | Ergonomic Assessment Grampians | Ergonomic Assessment Brisbane | Ergonomic Assessment Adelaide | Ergonomic Assessment Newcastle | Ergonomic Assessment Central Coast NSW | Ergonomic Assessment Northern Rivers | Ergonomic Assessment Sunshine Coast | Ergonomic Assessment Gold Coast | Ergonomic Assessment Hobart | Ergonomic Assessment Launceston

Office Ergonomics Training - Ergonomics Training Melbourne | Ergonomics Training Sydney | Ergonomics Training Canberra | Ergonomics Training Bendigo | Ergonomics Training Geelong | Ergonomics Training Ballarat | Ergonomics Training Gippsland | Ergonomics Training Brisbane | Ergonomics Training Adelaide


Manual Handling Training - Manual Handling Training Melbourne | Manual Handling Training Sydney | Manual Handling Training Canberra | Manual Handling Training Bendigo | Manual Handling Training Geelong | Manual Handling Training Ballarat | Manual Handling Training Gippsland | Manual Handling Training Brisbane | Manual Handling Training Adelaide | Manual Handling Training Gold Coast | Manual Handling Training Sunshine Coast | Manual Handling Training Albury-Wodonga | Manual Handling Training Echuca-Moama | Manual Handling Training Newcastle | Manual Handling Training Hobart | Manual Handling Training Launceston | Manual Handling Training Shepparton | Manual Handling Training Grampians | Manual Handling Training Northern Rivers
Copyright © The Ergonomic Physio . All Rights Reserved.