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How can I get Tennis elbow when I’ve never played tennis?

Heather Watson during day two of the 2015 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 20, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia.
Heather Watson during day two of the 2015 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 20, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia.

As I shouted at my TV on Friday willing Heather Watson on at Wimbledon, it reminded me about the conundrum of Tennis Elbow.

Tennis Elbow is officially caused by inflammation of the tendons on the outside of your elbow and is also called lateral epicondylitis.  It is classed as an overuse injury and occurs when you do repeated movements and it gets worse if you keep doing the activity that causes the pain.  It usually happens on your dominant side.  So it is easy to see why it happens in tennis players- as they grip the racquet and then use their arm the tendon that extends the wrist and elbow (called the common extensor tendon) gets inflamed causing pain, swelling and can even make a crunching noise called crepitus.

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