★ 5-Star Rating on Google, 296 Burlington patients. In 2025, our shockwave patients reported an average pain drop from 6.4 to 3.3 out of 10 over their care plan. Results vary and no outcome is guaranteed.
The grip that gives out
A sharp ache on the outside of your elbow when you grip, lift, or twist. Shaking hands hurts. Picking up the coffee pot hurts. You have not stopped living your life, but you have started working around it. Lifting with the other arm. Skipping the pickleball morning. Wearing the strap and hoping.
Here is the part that surprises most people: you do not have to play tennis to get tennis elbow. Most of the cases we see never touched a racquet. If the outside of your elbow has hurt for months, and rest, a brace, or even an injection have not fixed it, this page is for you.
Who we see with this in Burlington
Around Burlington, NC, tennis elbow shows up in patterns we see every week. Pickleball players from the City Park courts who feel it after long open-play mornings. Golfers who feel it at the top of the swing. People in trades who grip tools all day. Gym members whose pulling days have become a negotiation. Gardeners, parents carrying car seats, desk workers whose mouse hand aches by Friday. Active retirees who refuse to slow down and should not have to.
The common thread is not the activity. It is the identity. These are people who stay active with their hands and arms, and the elbow is threatening that. If that sounds like you, keep reading.
What you have probably already tried
Most people who come to us have already done the sensible things.
You rested it, and it helped until you gripped something again. You wore a counterforce brace or strap. You did the stretches from a printout or a video. You took anti-inflammatories before activity and iced after. Some of you have had a cortisone injection, and it helped for a while, and then it did not.
None of that was wrong. In the first few weeks, those steps often work on their own. The problem is the chronic case. Past about three months the tissue is usually no longer inflamed the way it was at the start, so treatments aimed at inflammation stop moving anything.
Why it keeps coming back
Tennis elbow, called lateral epicondylitis, is a breakdown in the tendon that anchors your gripping muscles to the outside of the elbow. The tendon is the end of a chain that runs from your neck and shoulder, through the forearm, into your grip. When the shoulder or wrist is not doing its share, the tendon absorbs load it was not built for, every grip, all day.
That is why the brace helps and does not last. You are protecting the last link in the chain. And once tissue has been stuck in a non-healing pattern for months, resting a stalled tendon does not restart it. Something has to.
What we do differently
Focused shockwave, aimed at the tendon that stalled.
We use shockwave therapy from Storz, the same technology used in sports medicine settings, delivered at the depth and intensity the tendon needs. The goal is to restart a process that stopped: local blood flow, new collagen, tissue that rebuilds rather than staying stuck.
Chronic tennis elbow is one of the established, well-studied uses for shockwave, with the strongest track record in cases that have hurt for more than three months and have not responded to rest or basic therapy. What we can tell you precisely is our own result: in 2025, our shockwave patients reported an average pain drop from 6.4 to 3.3 out of 10 over their care plan. That is all shockwave patients across conditions, not a selected group. Results vary and no outcome is guaranteed.
Shockwave does not work alone here.
Depending on your exam, your plan may also include:
- Loading and strength work through the forearm and grip, because a tendon that is rebuilding needs to be asked to work, not protected.
- Dry needling through the forearm extensors and up the chain when the muscles are part of the problem.
- Chiropractic care to restore motion where the wrist, elbow, or neck is restricted, so the tendon stops compensating for a joint that will not move.
- Graston therapy or K Laser where the tissue needs them.
What your first visit looks like
An exam, not a sales pitch.
Outer elbow pain has more than one cause. Tennis elbow is the common one and it is not the only one, so the exam comes first. We look at where the pain sits, how your wrist and forearm load the elbow, how your shoulder and neck contribute, and what your day asks of your grip. We ask what you have already tried, because that history changes the plan.
Then we tell you plainly what we found. If shockwave, chiropractic care, and rehab make sense for you, you get a clear plan with a visit count and a price before anything starts. If your exam points somewhere else, toward imaging or a different kind of care, we say so. We work alongside local physicians and orthopedists, not around them.
What a course of treatment looks like
Most tennis elbow plans use a series of short shockwave visits, often once a week, commonly three to six sessions. Many patients notice a change within the first few visits. Shockwave is a cash service, which means your plan is built around your elbow and your goals, not around what an insurance company will approve.
| Option | Price |
|---|---|
| Single session | $125 |
| 4 Pack | $400 |
| 6 Pack | $600 |
Common questions
Does shockwave hurt? Most patients describe it as intense but tolerable, a strong tapping or pulsing over the sore area for a few minutes. Some notice temporary soreness afterward, similar to a hard workout.
How many sessions will I need? Most plans run three to six shockwave sessions, usually once a week, inside a broader plan. Your exam sets the number, and we re-check as we go rather than locking you into more than you need.
How is this different from a cortisone shot? Cortisone calms inflammation, which can feel very good short term and does not rebuild the tendon. Our care is designed to support the body’s own repair process instead, so the tendon itself may become healthier over time. A lot of our patients come to us specifically wanting to avoid another injection.
Can I keep playing while I get treated? Usually, with adjustments. We would rather modify how you grip and load than pull you off the court or out of the gym entirely. We typically recommend easing off heavy training of the treated area for a day or two after each session so the healing response can run its course.
How soon do people notice a change? It varies. Many patients report a change within the first few visits, and research suggests benefits often continue to build for weeks after a series ends as the tendon keeps healing. Individual results vary, and no outcome is guaranteed.
Is this covered by insurance? Shockwave itself is a cash service with the transparent pricing above. Other parts of your plan, like chiropractic care or rehab, may be billable to insurance depending on your coverage. We will lay out exactly what costs what before you commit to anything.
Is shockwave safe? It is non-invasive and drug free, with a well-studied safety profile. It is not right for everyone. We screen for things like recent cortisone injections in the area, certain medications, active infection, and other exclusions at your exam, and we will tell you honestly if you should not have it.
Is this you?
Probably a good fit if:
- Your outer elbow has hurt more than three months
- You have already tried rest, a brace, stretches, or an injection
- You want to get back to pickleball, golf, the gym, your trade, or a full workday without planning around your grip
- You would rather rebuild the tendon than manage the pain indefinitely
Probably not the right clinic if:
- You are shopping on price per visit rather than the shortest route out of this.
- You want a passive treatment with no exercise in it. Loading the tendon is part of why this works.
We screen everyone at the exam, and if you are not a fit we will say so.
Serving Burlington and the surrounding Alamance County communities, including Graham, Mebane, Elon, and Gibsonville.
