I have tennis elbow help please?
I am a pretty serious junior player and I play almost every day. But my elbow is bugging me a lot and I know it is my forehand that is causing the stress. One coach said I kind of slap at the ball and dont go low to high to create topsin, also I use to much arm and not enough body yet I tried that and it still seemed to hurt to today.
Tagged with: coach • elbow • forehand • slap • stress • tennis elbow
Filed under: Cure Tennis Elbow
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Lots of good advice…. however > treat the problem as your first priority and not the symptom.
Treating the sympton:
1) heat wrapswill aid in a more rapid recovery (Epsom salt from pharmacy added also helps) and cold will make it feel better but recover slower.
2) take a 3 days off (if your arm hurts give it a chance to heal)
Treat the problem:
1) IF the equipment was the problem or is part of the problem then "Terminator"s advice is spot on reguarding equipment.
2) Go to a fully certified (different levels of pros are out there and the top guys are certified) USPTA or USPTR tennis pro and have the biomechanis of your strokes looked at and corrected.
3)"I kind of slap at the ball and dont go low to high to create topsin, also I use to much arm "….. Hitting the ball flat generates the greatest moment of impact and combined with a stroke (slap) that places the impact load primarily on your elbow and forearm is probably 55% of the problem and the other 45% is from the stress created by generating all your racket head speed with your arm meaning you may actually be overstressing your arm even without impacting the ball.
<"slow down your swing and hit harder" your stroke is lacking power from hip and shoulder rotation and you are not stepping into you shots (possibly even pushing away from the ball) which means you are getting all your racket head speed (power) 100% from your arm. > Slow your swing down to a controlled speed (if it feels like slow motion it is probably correct) step into the ball and rotate your body into the shots. The result should be a ball hit as hard or harder with greatly reduced stress on your arm. ***this is what a certified pro will be able to help you with …. best of luck!
email me if you you need more help tclogic101@yahoo
I played in college at a major university a long time ago and missed my senior season due to tennis elbow. It can be a technical flaw in your swing that can cause it or just the pounded that you elbow endures. Back in my day the solution was daily cortisone shots, which eventually caused me to miss a year of playing. Today I would check with an accupunturist to try to get help. They have helpe me with my shoulder and back.
If you are talking about a forehand-problem then it’s golf elbow (medial epicondilitis) not tennis elbow..If you get hurt when you hit a backhand, yes, that’s tennis elbow (lateral epicondilitis). It’s your flexor group of forearm muscles which has a problem cos you stretch it too much when you hit a forehand..only one thing to do is to have a treatment..find a physical therapist near your place and get a treatment,,i’m sure that you will be better soon.
Yes you have golfers elbow I got it 16 years ago to the point that it hurt after every serve and every forehand. Yeah I played through the pain. STUPID.
Stop, take some time off. Ice it. Get physio. Look into changing racquets or string or both. I used to play with the Wilson ProStaff 85′s strung at 64 lbs with nylon. I used to hit hard flat or slight topspin forehands and my serve was a bullet. I served in two speeds fast and faster according to my doubles partner. Your technique may be to blame but your equipment may as well. If you are using a tight low flex stiff frame in a small head size, or a light head heavy frame either strung with Babolat BB Original Rough or any similar type harsh string – Kevlar, etc. those would all be contributing factors.
I neglected to say that I also had tennis elbow from hitting a one handed bullet backhand and a torn rotor cuff in my shoulder from the serves as well. Playing 6 tournis in 8 weeks my last summer killed me. It hurt just to lift my arm. I took 15 years off. I missed tennis initially but then the feeling went away. If it wasn’t for bumping into my old doubles partner at a Toyota Dealership where we were both having our cars serviced a couple years ago I probably still wouldn’t have come back to tennis yet. Now I don’t suggest that much time off for you but do take a month and get physio and maybe check into the Head Liquidmetal 4 frame or the Pro Kennex Kinetic 5 g or 7 g they are all excellent frames for tennis elbow. When I recently started back I felt the pain returning with the Wilson HTour 105′s strung at 68 lbs that I bought so I played with the Pro Kennex Kinetic 5g and the Head Liquidmetal 4 and and found they both worked great and strung both with Babolat VS gut mid range + 2 to increase the shock absorbtion. I also pull up a wristband onto the forearm elbow area and that helps as well. If your arm is thin then the wrist band idea may not work well enough so look at getting a tennis elbow brace. Should be able to pick one up on ebay for like $5.
See an orthopedist to talk about it. Most likely, he’ll/she’ll refer you to a physical therapist who will work with your elbow to alleviate the pain and strengthen it.
I’d listen to your coach and try to use the proper technique. The pain won’t go away overnight but, if you stay the course, you will reduce the chances of increasing your injury or causing it to reoccur.
Finally, I agree that you should look into your racquet and/or strings being a contributor. This website is pretty comprehensive about the subject and potential strings and racquets to use if you have tennis elbow. Good luck.
http://www.tennismenace.com/tenniselbow.htm