Overuse

• For anyone that suffers from tennis elbow, the direct cause of the injury is usually due to overuse. When the forearm is repetitively forced to contract as you continuously raise and straighten your wrist, the tendons all the way up your forearm can become irritated and inflamed. This can lead to a tear in the tendons just below the elbow, resulting in tennis elbow.
  
  

Strength

• While overuse is the most common cause of tennis elbow, it can also be a consequence of strength. If the area isn't conditioned properly, it may lack the strength necessary to properly perform a repetitive motion in the wrist. After you've repeatedly executed the raising and straightening of the wrist for a prolonged period of time (usually around 2 hours), this condition can develop.
  
  

Flexibility

• It is also possible that flexibility may also play a part in the development of tennis elbow. In this situation, the injury is a product of stiffness held within the wrist. If you don't properly warm up the area and increase its flexibility, you may develop this condition.
  
  

Pain

• Of all the symptoms of tennis elbow, pain is the most common. Actually, almost anyone who suffers from this condition experiences a certain level of pain. For some, the pain starts within the elbow and radiates out into the forearm as well as the wrist. For others, it is only present during periods of activity.
  
  

Weakness

• Often accompanying the pain and discomfort of the condition is weakness. Over time, the condition can cause some weakness within the forearm that makes it difficult to hold and grasp things within the hand of the affected limb.
  
  

Swelling

• Though rare, relatively severe cases of tennis elbow causes the forearm to become noticeably swollen and even warm to the touch. As the injury worsens, more and more blood makes its way to the forearm to help heal the condition, but this often causes the area to become inflamed and swollen.
  
  

Immobility

• With tennis elbow, a person can experience limited mobility up into the elbow. This is largely due to the tightening that can occur within the tendons after the area has been left irritated and inflamed for long periods of time.