Tennis Elbow Cause
The primary cause of tennis elbow is poor technique or inadequate conditioning, which leads to strain on the muscles and tendons in the forearm.
With the season and tennis camps ahead, time to focus on tennis elbow and its cause. The good news is, with some physical preparation, you can prevent the injury.
Understanding the mechanics of your strokes can also play a significant role in preventing injuries. When you swing a racket, improper grip or wrist positioning can lead to unnecessary stress on your elbow.
One common mistake is using a racket that is too heavy or has a grip that doesn’t fit your hand size. Choosing the right equipment can significantly reduce the risk of developing tennis elbow.
In serious cases, consulting a physical therapist can help you develop a personalized strengthening and conditioning program to avoid future injuries.
In addition to physical preparation, understanding your limits and listening to your body is crucial. If you feel pain, it may be a warning sign to reassess your technique or take a break.
Moreover, integrating exercises that enhance flexibility and strength in your forearms can provide additional support against injury. This might include wrist curls or reverse wrist curls as part of your routine.
Utilizing resistance bands for shoulder exercises can also help stabilize the muscles that support your elbow during play.
Remember that recovery strategies are equally important. Incorporate rest days into your training schedule to allow your body to heal and recover.
Also, consider incorporating ice therapy post-game to reduce inflammation and prevent long-term damage to your tendons.
In addition to physical therapy, employing the right nutritional strategies can aid recovery. Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, like salmon and flaxseeds, can help reduce inflammation.
Know your body. Some shoulders and elbows are too weak to play tennis. Better seek another sport.
Those who have experienced a tennis elbow, know it is a painful and unpleasant situation. My advice: Treat your body nicely or it will worsen. Give your elbow the rest it needs. No more play. And possibly, no more tennis.
Moreover, consider consulting a sports nutritionist who can guide you on the best dietary choices to support your training regimen.
Investing in proper gear such as elbow braces or compression sleeves can also provide additional support during play and assist in injury prevention.
Ultimately, educating yourself about tennis elbow, its causes, and effective prevention strategies is vital for any player looking to maintain their game and avoid injuries.
A tennis elbow is not whisked away with a heating path. It is a serious injury that needs to be avoided at all cost. But how can we prevent it?
The first thing you need to do is build up your game. Warming up your muscles is part of it. Not with a harsh training, nor hours of exercise. Just give your elbow, shoulders and arms the needed warming up and rest between games and do not push the training to the top.
Take time to shape your physical condition. Strengthen your arms, shoulders and back. That is the fist and most important step: build up your condition and muscle strenght. Without physical strenght you will expose your body to severe injuries and physical dammage.
Work with a coach if possible and set up a training routine for all the essential tennis muscles. Stick to it.
If you play occasionally, pace yourself. Never force your playing time after weeks of inactivity. Play for short periods instead. Do not push yourself into problems. Build up. Your arms will wear out badly if you do not take this into account.
Stretch your muscles before every game. Give them the time needed to warm up. Keep the muscles around the tendons of your joints supple. Tense muscles inevitably lead into tendon injuries. Which are very painful indeed. This streching best becomes part of your daily routine. You will benefit from it on the long run.
Know that repetitive movements will drag you out. Take a break when exercising serves, swings, forehands, backhands, … and make sure to vary your warming up. Do not overwork your muscles. Do not stress over practice of one serve for hours. Vary and take multiple little breaks. Your time on court will be more valuable and effective.
Beware of bad coaches, pushing you over the roof.
And remember pain is a bad signal.
Never ignore it!
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What would be your advice?
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I’ve been a sports coach myself, and so I recognise a lot of sound advice in your article. Your advice to take time and build up gradually to higher performance levels is very important in avoiding injury, and indeed applies especially after a winter break. Knowing your own body is important, and I would say that yoga or a martial art helps becoming more aware of ones own physicality, and hence help to avoid pushing oneself over the line into the injury zone. And indeed, people need to recognise if their coach is pushing them into unsafe zones. All good advice.
Hi guy,
Keeping out of the injury zone is the message indeed . Many jump into sports without preparation, leading to injuries of all kind. And shaping our body comes before sports. I love tai chi and gardening now. And I have come to prefer them to sports of all kind. Less stress and more peaceful. No competition either…;-)
Thank you for your valuable insight
Ref
Hi Ref,I really appreciate this helpful article on tennis elbow cause. These reminders about being careful to warm up your muscles and not overdoing it are particularly important for people like me who play sporadically. It’s easy to push too hard and cause a long-term injury. Do you have a recommended time period for warming up before you get out on the court? Thanks again for the info!
Hi Linda,
The first would be not to play in cold weather. And to make sure to dress accordingly to the temperature of the season.
The second indeed is the warming up. Best is gentle stressing, three times of your major muscles.
The third would be, to warm up before playing a game. Playing against the wall as they used to say…
Looking at many international competitions, the warming up takes at least 20 minutes…
And last but not least, your own condition. If it is bad, build up first. And perhaps it is better not to go for tennis but for indoor gym or gardening… 😉
To your health
Ref
Hi there. Thank you for the writing this great article about TENNIS Elbow. I really learnt a lot from this post today, I love sports and I play a lot with family and friends. I have taken note of the tips above and I’m gonna make use of them. Maybe I’ll send the post to my friend later in the day. Keep up the good work. Alex
Thank you for telling me Alex… Take care of you, tennis is a tough one!
Hello how are you doing ? I can see tennis is alot of muscle work mostly the whole body is at work so you have to be in shape before you even start. For safety that’s good what u have there, any thing can happen when you are playing that sport, it looks easy but it’s not. Vision is key when it comes to tennis and if you don’t have good vision don’t even bother to play. Keep up with the good work. Nothing but success follows you.
Morning,
Yes, so rightly said. Tennis seems easy, but it is not.
It needs indeed great muscle shape, excercise, body condition and vision.
And only the best will succeed!
Thank you. Wishing you success in all your endeavors
Ref
Hi, I really enjoyed the practical advice for tennis elbow which I have many years ago and it was not fun. Recently I had Achilles tendinitis, If make life very difficult for both problems. Thanks for the practical advice. I gave your web address to my oldest son who plays a lot of tennis and hopeful it will help him,In the future will you go into more details exercises to prevent these injuries? I’m also curious if Tai Chi can be helpful? Thanks again. Ed
Hi Ed,
Taichi is very helpful, since it develops a sense of balance indeed.
Tendinitis, is typical for a weakness of the tendons. Some people have to be more careful than others. I played some tennis, but not for long. It soon became clear that the sport was not for me. Playing Badminton instead.
As for the injuries of tendons, best is to use arnica unguent or lavender based anointing. Always check with a doctor. In case of infection, cold compresses help a lot.
Wishing success to your son!
Thank you for your kind comment
Ref