Which movement tends to worsen pain in tennis elbow?

• A. Twisting or grasping movements
• B. Running
• C. Sleeping
• D. Walking

Answer: (A)

Pain from tennis elbow comes from stress on the wrist extensor tendons near the elbow, especially with activities that require gripping or twisting the forearm. The primary wrist extensor muscles originate at the lateral epicondyle, so actions that involve twisting the forearm or squeezing objects put a load on these tendons and reproduce or worsen the pain. Twisting or grasping movements explicitly engage and strain those tendons, making the pain worse. In contrast, running or walking mainly involve the legs and don’t load the elbow tendons in the same way, and sleeping typically doesn’t provoke the same elbow-loading motions.