Should I have surgery to treat tennis elbow?Introduction
This information will help you understand your choices, whether you share
in the decision-making process or rely on your doctor's recommendation. Key points in making your decision Surgery is
considered a last resort for treating
tennis elbow. But if you still have elbow and forearm
pain and stiffness after more than 6 to 12 months of non-surgical treatment
(rest, ice, rehabilitation), you may consider surgical treatment. When making
your decision, keep in mind: - Resting the
tendon is important. A typical case of tennis elbow
takes 6 to 12 months to heal. In some cases, the pain lasts for 2 years or
longer.1 With tendon rest and rehabilitation and
(possibly) 1 to 3 corticosteroid shots, most people with tennis elbow heal
within a year.
- Tennis elbow tendon damage gets worse when you
continue painful, aggravating activity.
- There are various surgical
procedures for treating tennis elbow. But there is no evidence to support any
one technique as being most effective or to prove that surgery is better than
other treatment.2
- Tennis elbow surgery
does not guarantee a cure.
See a picture of
tennis elbow  .
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