People with tennis elbow needed for UQ study

University of Queensland researchers are seeking people suffering from tennis elbow or pain on the outer side of their elbow to participate in an ongoing study.

Senior lecturer in physiotherapy and research team leader Dr Bill Vicenzino from UQ’s School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences said tennis elbow was a common problem in the community and was not restricted to tennis players.

“Tennis elbow is mostly likely caused by activities involving repetitive gripping actions of the hands over a prolonged period of time. However many sufferers do not recall participating in such activities,” Dr Vicenzino said.

“Some people have pain and difficulty lifting a cup of tea or an iron and in severe cases there is marked limitation of arm use and function.”

Volunteers need to be 18–65 years old with pain in one elbow, aggravated by activities such as gripping, squeezing, lifting objects or playing sports.

Participants will be required to visit the Musculoskeletal Pain and Injury Research Unit at UQ’s St Lucia campus (free parking available) for an assessment to determine eligibility.

People interested in participating should contact Dr Vicenzino (mobile 0409 267 247, email b.vicenzino@uq.edu.au).

Media: For further information, contact Dr Vicenzino (mobile 0409 267 247, email b.vicenzino@uq.edu.au) or Joanne van Zeeland at UQ Communications (telephone 07 3365 2619).