"A stiff raquet does NOT cause TE"

[Ripper]

According to NY's Wilson rep.

http://theimproper.com/columnists.asp?sName=tennis&id=labor03

[mislav]

Well, what else is he going to say? At least with the stiffness factor he's got a vague boundary. It's not as if there's a strict value set which you couldn't cross. Plus the type of strings and whatever dampening technology egually attribute to a stiffness factor.

It's the opposite with head heavy sticks. It's easily defined which stick is HH and which isn't. And he's not going to admit that HH racquets cause TE either. They might as well ditch the whole Hammer line.

[nViATi]

According to NY's Wilson rep.

http://theimproper.com/columnists.asp?sName=tennis&id=labor03
And right under that the author basically says that the rep. is wrong/

[soyelmocano]

Didn't read the link but the gist is somewhat true. It is usually nt the raquet that CAUSES tennis elbow. However I belive it can contribute and not help.
Bad form and mis-hits are usually the culprits. If you were to play with the stiffest raq on the market and hit every shot on the center of percussion, you would not get tennis elbow (assuming good form). Same raq and mis-hit but at granny speed and you probably wouldn't get TE because there would not be enough shock to bother the arm. Swing hard with bad for and mis-hit with stiff frame and we've got an ice pack cooling just for you.

Personally I don't like stiff frames.

[chess9]

And right under that the author basically says that the rep. is wrong/

Yup. Half the article is crap. They shouldn't let Wilson reps answer questions if they are going to sound like the village idiot. He didn't even mention bad form, which may be the single biggest contributor to TE/GE.

-Robert

[slewisoh]

Assuming my #$%#$%@# head heavy hyper hammer played a role in my wrist tendonitis and shoulder impingement, I've often wondered why I have never had problems with the elbow? Perhaps swingweight and stiffness play lesser roles in TE?

All I know is my wrist and shoulder pain stopped the MOMENT I used a head light racquet. Back to playing 3 days per week with no pain.

If I saw the Wilson rep I'd probably bash him upside the head with one of his sorry racquets.:mad:

[Phil]

According to NY's Wilson rep.

http://theimproper.com/columnists.asp?sName=tennis&id=labor03

That's just funny...considering that using a WILSON racquet nearly turned my arm, peremanently, into a limp noodle. I was in pretty bad pain, and although I certainly don't have perfect form, I didn't think that was the culprit. Once I switched-first to Slaz and then Head-the TE practically disappeared-not totally, but 90% of the pain is gone. That's not "form", it's the racquet. I have met more people who messed up their arms using Wilson than any other stick.

[louis netman]

If lab rats in group 1 were able to press stiff pellet-dispensing bars to obtain food and rats in group 2 were able to press flexible pellet-dispensing bars to obtain food, I would be 100% certain that, over a significant period of time, the rats in group 1 would have a higher incidence of forepaw tendinitis than the rats in group 2. Any questions?

[ChicagoJack]

Try catching an egg without flexing your wrist or elbow.
-Jack

[black_spin]

I damaged my arm using a head heavy Wilson - I switched to a Babolat (whose racquets are pretty damn stiff) with arm friendly strings and string savers and now all is fine

[rasajadad]

If lab rats in group 1 were able to press stiff pellet-dispensing bars to obtain food and rats in group 2 were able to press flexible pellet-dispensing bars to obtain food, I would be 100% certain that, over a significant period of time, the rats in group 1 would have a higher incidence of forepaw tendinitis than the rats in group 2. Any questions?

Of course you are:1- Assuming the rats use proper form, and 2) That the pellet bars were not head heavy. ;)