You know how painful and uncomfortable tennis elbow is if you have ever been diagnosed with the condition. This is basically a soft tissue injury that occurs when you use your arm improperly or excessively especially in motions like swinging while gripping objects. Most people who have suffered from this condition will tell you that the first thing to note will be the inflammation and the pain, the right treatment should therefor focus on reducing pain and quelling the discomfort and inflammation. Believe it or not, since tennis elbow is an injury and not a disease, the right treatment is actually rest and not the prescription or the over the counter drugs that professionals recommend.
Once you are certain that you have the injury, focus on getting rid of the elbow tendonitis symptoms that mainly include pain, tenderness, inability to use the arm and inflammation. The first thing you should do is stop using the arm completely and apply a pack of frozen peas or ice to minimize the pain, reduce inflammation and make the injured elbow abit comfortable. This is just the first aid but if the injury does not respond to this, there are a number of options of dealing with the situation including using smear anti inflammation cream or taking them orally. If these do not work either, a doctor may use injectable anti-inflammation medication to deal with the reaction.
It is fine to swallow pain killers to deal with the pain that is a symptom of the injury. Since you will have to allow the injured arm to heal naturally, it is important that you wear a tennis elbow strap to help protect the arm and the elbow from injuries resulting from accidental use of the arm, swinging and bad position. There are a few other things you need to do to accelerate the healing process and these include exercises and therapies for the arm and elbow.
Exercises are particularly very beneficial because they ensure that the arm heals in the right position and fast. Exercises however should be done under the guidance of a professional because doing the wrong exercises or doing the right exercises wrong or too intensely can result in further injuries and hindrance of the healing process. Keep the injured elbow elevated to prevent swelling on the elbow or the wrist and you may compress the areas with a bandage or by gently massaging them.