Humeral Epicondylitis in Elite Tennis Players and Indications for Elbow Arthroscopy

Tennis players are frequently exposed to repetitive, sudden, and explosive stressors during competition, resulting in demands on their musculoskeletal system that are unique to the sport. During a tennis stroke, the elbow is subject to extraordinarily high loads and forces. Not surprisingly, then, it is believed that elbow symptoms and injuries occur in at least 40–50% of tennis players at some point in their career [1, 2]. First described by Runge in 1873, lateral epicondylitis, or “tennis elbow,” is the most common upper extremity diagnosis in recreational tennis players, with injury rates ranging from 75% to 85% of elbow injuries [3–6].