You can’t open a jar. You can’t grip a coffee cup without wincing. And you don’t even play tennis. Dr. Aneesh Garg, DO, CAQ says the reason two cortisone shots, a brace, and PT haven’t fixed it is because tennis elbow isn’t an inflammation problem — it’s tissue degradation. And steroid injections don’t fix tissue degradation. They make it worse. In this episode he breaks down why the elbow is often just collateral damage from a wrist or shoulder problem, what actually heals a degenerative tendon, and how a mom of two with pain in both elbows got back to the beach with her kids using EMTT, focused shockwave, and PRP.
Chapters:
- 0:00 Tennis elbow that won’t quit — and you don’t even play tennis
- 0:52 Two cortisone shots, a brace, and PT — what’s actually missing
- 1:00 Tennis elbow is tissue degradation, not inflammation — why that changes everything
- 2:00 Steroid injections suppress tendon healing — please stop getting them
- 3:04 The elbow is often collateral damage — the real problem is the wrist or shoulder
- 3:21 Should I just rest it completely until it goes away?
- 3:25 Rest weakens the tendon — active healing is different from doing nothing
- 5:08 The motorcycle rev analogy — understanding why the elbow takes the hit
- 7:08 What actually heals a degenerative tendon?
- 7:12 EMTT, focused shockwave, and radial pressure waves — how they work together
- 8:27 If you only had one treatment — focused shockwave is the most important
- 9:26 When to add PRP or stem cells for more significant degeneration
- 11:09 The step-wise protocol: energy medicine first, biologics second, PT third
- 13:30 Case study: active mom of two with pain in both elbows for over a year — back on the beach
- 17:57 If you’ve been fighting this for months, what’s your next move?
- 18:01 Stop the steroid injections — get an ultrasound evaluation instead
- 19:17 The big takeaway: tissue degradation requires tissue healing, not anti-inflammatories
