Tennis and golfer's elbow is an often painful inflammation of a tendon, most often caused by repetitive, minor impact on the affected area, or from a sudden more serious injury.

There are many activities beyond tennis and golf that can cause the problem, including:

• Gardening
• Raking
• Carpentry
• Cleaning house
• Shoveling
• Painting
• Scrubbing
• Skiing
• Throwing and pitching
• Repetitive motions such as typing on the computer

Incorrect posture at work or home or poor stretching or conditioning before exercise or playing sports also increases a person's risk.

If you or someone in your family is struggling with some tendon pain, know that homeopathy can help.

Here is a list of some of the more common remedies to consider:

Arnica: This homeopathic remedy is a great remedy to start with after a tendon has suffered an injury from a blow. The tendon will tend to feel sore and painful as if bruised – and there may be some discoloration in the area of the injury.

Bryonia: Someone needing this remedy will tend to have tendon problems that are painful from even slight movement. The patient feels better holding the sore part perfectly still and when pressure is applied to the area. Bryonia patients tend to be thirsty for large quantities of cold water and can feel better lying on the sore part (which acts as a brace for the area).

Rhus toxicodendron: This homeopathic remedy should be considered for anyone whose tendon is painful and stiff when at rest but better on moving the part – at least initially. These patients tend to be restless with their pain, which is often worse at night, and feel relief from heat and warm applications. Rarely will Rhus tox be called for if your patient is not made worse by cold, damp conditions.

Ruta graveolens: Similar to Rhus-tox and often hard to distinguish from it – both are very helpful for injury or pain of tendons, both are better from heat and continued motion (which loosens up the area), both are worse from rest. Importantly, these aspects are more obviously true when needing Rhus-tox… and less obvious if you need Ruta. If you can’t decide, my advice is to try a few doses of Rhus-tox and if not better, switch to Ruta!

As is almost always the case, there are a number of individual homeopathic remedies that may be called for in cases like these. I have sought here to give you a few of the more common ones to consider. Remember – homeopathy is an individualized form of medicine – the remedy you need must match your symptom profile for it to produce good effects.

Once you have chosen a remedy that appears to match your symptoms dose with either a 30C or 200C potency to start - placing one pellet under the tongue or one pellet in water, stirring vigorously and taking teaspoon doses as needed. Always cease dosing when relief begins and only re-dose if symptoms again worsen. As with any medical condition, consult with your physician if you have any concerns about the severity of your problem as it may first require medical diagnosis and/or intervention and monitoring.

About Dr. Lisa Samet

Dr. Lisa Samet N.D. provides Washington Homeopathic Products with a weekly column on using homeopathy for the family. She's a naturopathic physician who specializes in homeopathic medicine and she's a partner with Dr. Andre Saine N.D. Dr. Samet graduated from the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in 1998 and has been practicing in Montreal since then. She was born and raised in New York.

Dr. Samet has chosen to focus on homeopathy because in her experience it is the deepest healing modality available in that it does not just soothe or palliate symptoms but can actually stimulate the body to start to heal itself. Dr. Samet sees patients in her Montreal office as well as long distance using Skype. Learn more here:Dr. Lisa Samet