Had tennis elbow for 4 months now...won't go away?

I've stopped playing tennis for about 4 months and my tennis elbow still won't go away. My mom says it's because i'm typing on the keyboard too much, could that be? I've been applying icepack on my injury for about 20 min each day and stretching the area. Neither seems to be helping, so what should i do?

Typing could definitely be hampering your recovery. After four months you're still hurting, so it would stand to reason that there is something putting stress on the injury. Stretching could be causing strain too - be sure you are not injuring yourself when you stretch.

Please be sure not to re-injure the elbow while you are still recovering from the old injury. Do not play tennis until you are completely healed. I have done this and now I have a permanent weakness and pain.

There isn't anything you can do to increase the rate at which your injury heals. Ice/Heat, anti-inflammatory drugs such as tylenor or asprin, and stretch/strengthening exercises are just about the standard recommendations for treating tennis elbow.

quit rubbing it out

see doctor get x rays.

Glucosamine worked wonders for me. I had tried chiropractic treatments, ice, etc., but after two weeks of glucosamine, the pain was gone. Don't take if you have high blood pressure, though.

If you haven't seen a doctor already, it's definitely time to do so. You may need to have x-rays done to make sure it's nothing else. Sometimes they will prescribe an anti-inflammatory or inject cortisone into the site. Honestly, the shot itself hurts, but the results from it are well worth it. I am speaking from experience. There is no need for you to continue to suffer! Good luck!

use the other hand to satisfy your appropriate needs untill your elbow heals up

Your mom is partially right. One can actually get tennis elbow from being on the computer too much. To tell you the truth a X-ray will not tell you anything, because the injury is soft tissue. What has happend, from playing tennis you have created a micro tear in you tendon that attaches to your radius bone. Over time is you do not take care of this, you will creat scar tissue. What needs to be done is you need to go to a physical therapist or better yet an Active Release provider (www.activerelease.com) to get that scar tissue broken up. Then you will need to let the area heal properly and then the PT or the ART provider should show you how to rehab the injury. Hope this helps and if you need to just message me with any questions.