Tennis elbow - who is at risk?

garbage · May 28, 2007

I've just turned 30 and it's got me wondering about tennis elbow. I'd be interested in hearing from tennis elbow sufferers the following:

- age at which you started experiencing tennis elbow
- the frequency you were playing tennis at the time
- what racquet(s) you were using at the time

I'm trying to minimise the chances of TE by playing with a heavyish, headlight, flexible, mid-plus or bigger racquet strung low (< 54lbs). Have I got all bases covered (equipment-wise)?

Kabob190 · May 28, 2007

im not an expert, but string? not sure what kind of string is good but im pretty sure poly is bad?

ollinger · May 28, 2007

Be aware that you don't have to even play tennis to develop it. I do in fact play but my only bout came after a long bicycle ride -- any activity involving squeezing something in your hand, particularly while your elbow is bent, is sufficient. The fact that I play tennis may have predisposed me.

Duzza · May 28, 2007

garbage said:
I've just turned 30 and it's got me wondering about tennis elbow. I'd be interested in hearing from tennis elbow sufferers the following:

- age at which you started experiencing tennis elbow
- the frequency you were playing tennis at the time
- what racquet(s) you were using at the time

I'm trying to minimise the chances of TE by playing with a heavyish, headlight, flexible, mid-plus or bigger racquet strung low (< 54lbs). Have I got all bases covered (equipment-wise)?

Keep that sort of racquet in mind, but if you don't enjoy playing with that, try something you like that may be risky. See if you get pains from it, if not, then great.

volusiano · May 28, 2007

Kabob190 said:
im not an expert, but string? not sure what kind of string is good but im pretty sure poly is bad?

I had a history of TE but I've been playing with co-poly like SPPP and Topspin Cyberflash and recently WeissCannon and they're OK for my elbow. Maybe just avoid the original poly type but co-poly seems to be OK.

Poor techniques of course would also contribute to TE, so make sure you have proper form.

Another thing is ball. If you have a ball machine and use the pressureless/harder ball like Tretorn Micro X, make sure you don't hit too many of those balls. In a typical 2 hour session, I can feel a little pain on my elbow if I hit too many of those balls.

Court_Jester · May 28, 2007

garbage said:
I'm trying to minimise the chances of TE by playing with a heavyish, headlight, flexible, mid-plus or bigger racquet strung low (< 54lbs). Have I got all bases covered (equipment-wise)?

In terms of equipment, you may want to add that you should avoid polys and kevlar and stick with multifilament strings. But in the end, no equipment is going to prevent you from getting TE or GE if your stroke mechanics are shot.

TE is more prevalent among those with 1HBH. To avoid getting TE, hit the ball early and most importantly, don't flex your wrist upon contact with the ball. Late last year, my TE wouldn't go away despite using arm-friendly racquets like Volkl and ProKennex 5g. Only after firming up my wrist did it go away and for good.

garbage · May 28, 2007

Thanks for all the responses. For those of you who have had tennis elbow, how old were you when it started? And were you playing very frequently?

Serve 'em hard · May 28, 2007

garbage said:
Thanks for all the responses. For those of you who have had tennis elbow, how old were you when it started? And were you playing very frequently?

I think you're going to get such a variety of answers (if people answer at all) that it will be hard to draw meaningful conclusions about TE and its causes. It seems to strike older people more often than younger, and presumably playing too much tennis can be a risk factor as well. Or playing no tennis at all, since it strikes non-tennis players all the time.... I personally felt vague symptoms of it in my late 30's from weight lifting, and then it struck with a vengeance soon after I took up tennis again, playing a couple of times a week, at age 43.

Court_Jester · May 28, 2007

Serve 'em hard said:
It seems to strike older people more often than younger, and presumably playing too much tennis can be a risk factor as well. Or playing no tennis at all, since it strikes non-tennis players all the time....

Probably because tendons lose their resiliency/elasticity with age and as such, they are less able to cope with the stresses on them.

Serve 'em hard · May 28, 2007

Court_Jester said:
Probably because tendons lose their resiliency/elasticity with age and as such, they are less able to cope with the stresses on them.

Yes, quite possibly. I remember reading somewhere that TE most often strikes those ages 35-50, and less so in those both younger OR older. I have no idea if this is true, but it sounds believable enough.

dave333 · May 29, 2007

i've always wondered about TE...if you are older and more prone to TE but have perf technique, then can you still use polys, stiff racquets etc?

Court_Jester · May 29, 2007

dave333 said:
i've always wondered about TE...if you are older and more prone to TE but have perf technique, then can you still use polys, stiff racquets etc?

I do (check my sig).

RadicalPro · May 29, 2007

develop your muscles in the forearm, and muscles around the elbow. looser tension

LuckyR · May 30, 2007

garbage said:
Thanks for all the responses. For those of you who have had tennis elbow, how old were you when it started? And were you playing very frequently?

The 30's is a common time, but that may be an artifact of the onset of Weekend Warriors getting back into the game with sticks that are much stiffer than what they were using in High School. Folks older than 55 may not be able (as a group) to generate the pace that put their arms at higher risk.

I'd add gut to optimize your setup. Might not be necessary, but then again it might be...

I agree with the 1HBH comment for TE, but Golfer's elbow (which is forehand related) is, IMO a much worse problem, so I'd not go overboard with worrying about TE.

acer · May 30, 2007

garbage said:
I've just turned 30 and it's got me wondering about tennis elbow. I'd be interested in hearing from tennis elbow sufferers the following:

- age at which you started experiencing tennis elbow)

I was in my early thirties when I first experienced tennis elbow.

garbage said:
- the frequency you were playing tennis at the time

3-5 times a week.

garbage said:
- what racquet(s) you were using at the time)

I was using a Wilson Hyperhammer 5.3. I was just returning to playing tennis and I did not do any research on racquets. The 5.3 is really stiff, head heavy and low weight. Everything you don't want in a racquet.

garbage said:
I'm trying to minimise the chances of TE by playing with a heavyish, headlight, flexible, mid-plus or bigger racquet strung low (< 54lbs). Have I got all bases covered (equipment-wise)?

They say heavy, head light and flexible is the best. Some say smaller head and others say bigger head is better. I use 17g multifilament string which is supposed to absorb shock well. They say gut is the best. This is what I have learned from my experiences from it:

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=111487

Another link

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=111492

Acer

Geezer Guy · May 30, 2007

Who's at risk?

I'd say it's limited to anyone that plays tennis AND has an elbow.

Serve 'em hard · May 30, 2007

Geezer Guy said:
Who's at risk?

I'd say it's limited to anyone that plays tennis AND has an elbow.

Nope. It's limited to anyone who has an elbow, period. You don't need to play tennis to get it. Many many other activities can cause it. Heck, even typing posts about the causes of tennis elbow could lead to tennis elbow...

Tennis elbow - who is at risk?

garbage

Rookie

Kabob190

Rookie

ollinger

G.O.A.T.

Duzza

Legend

volusiano

Hall of Fame

Court_Jester

Hall of Fame

garbage

Rookie

Serve 'em hard

Banned

Court_Jester

Hall of Fame

Serve 'em hard

Banned

dave333

Hall of Fame

Court_Jester

Hall of Fame

RadicalPro

Guest

LuckyR

Legend

acer

Rookie

Geezer Guy

Hall of Fame

Serve 'em hard

Banned

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