"Tennis elbow? Just buy a new racket!"

[gilly2571]

Originally Posted by Ramon

Which EXO3 did you use? I agree PK makes arm-friendly racquets, but the EXO3 Tour 100 is the most comfortable racquet I ever tried.

I used the EXO3 White 100. A great racket just not as arm friendly for me as the PK. Your mileage may vary.

[gilly2571]

Originally Posted by srvnvly

Does this Pro Kennex racquet make noise? I remember demoing one about 5 years ago, and the 'shaking' noise was a little distracting.

It does, but it's better playing painless with a slightly "noisy" racket than playing in pain with a quiet one. You really can't hear it when you are playing. Only when you shake it near your ears can I hear it.

[T-Vex]

Very simple, and surely an efficient way of almost totally excluding all sorts of wrist-hand-arm issues due to racket stiffness/string stiffness/racket weight/you name it...

...is a bit of workout!

It sounds like a pain in the ***, but actually it might be enough to make few excersises 2 times a week to keep all the muscles involved up to their tasks!

Whenever I was weight lifting, I had'nt had any problems with wrist-elbow-arm.
Guess what?

Few months after I concluded weights were just to demanding and to exhausting to be combined with more serious tennis dedication (3-5 times a week), all of those issues started to arise!


Now I am a lot smarter - it's not neccessary to create an intense workout programme - 2-3 sessions a week consisted of 20-30 mins of doing these excercises with 50-60% max load., 10-20 reps....

...can really make all the difference!


It's not a demanding workout that will drain all energy out of your body causing your tennis to suffer, and it really doesn't take a lot of time from other daily activities!

Just give it a try and stop changing rackets!


If only I was this smart few months ago

[KenC]

Originally Posted by srvnvly

Does this Pro Kennex racquet make noise? I remember demoing one about 5 years ago, and the 'shaking' noise was a little distracting.

Just grunt when you hit.

Seriously though, I play indoors a lot and still can't hear anything.

[TimeToPlaySets]

As per comments regarding lack of blood flow to the injured tendon, I have refused to let my GE impact my otherwise highly active fitness regiment.

After a week or two of laying back from activity, I am now back in full force. I've done yoga, weightlifting, Pilates, and bootcamp classes all week long. I'm indirectly working that elbow and it's feeling better and stronger.

[jwbarrientos]

Originally Posted by TimeToPlaySets

My brother swears by using a tennis elbow strap.
Does anyone else feel these things help?
Or just more placebo marketing snake oil?

http://tinyurl.com/8nodd3h

Let's be clear, this is just my opinion based on my own experience.... these braces will only help but not solve TE or GE.

Technique + Frame + Strings + many other isues contribute to TE, GE, so ... in order to improve many things have to be do it properly.

[jwbarrientos]

Originally Posted by KenC

Just grunt when you hit.

Seriously though, I play indoors a lot and still can't hear anything.

+1 ................

[TimeToPlaySets]

This racket makes almost no sound. Anyone who said it sounds like a rattlesnake has clearly never used it. It is hardly anything that can distract you, let alone be heard from across the court. I have one for sale here: http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=442641

[mbm0912]

Originally Posted by my76

I'd also recommend the Volkl V1 classic, for me it's even more arm friendly than the Prokennex Ionic rackets that I've used.It's stiffer but you feel no vibration because of the handle system.

isn't that a pretty stiff racquet @ 69? I hear a lot about it being arm friendly but it's stiffer than the one I play now, and I have problems.

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by mbm0912

isn't that a pretty stiff racquet @ 69? I hear a lot about it being arm friendly but it's stiffer than the one I play now, and I have problems.

The Pro Kennex kinetic system is very effective at producing a stiff but arm friendly racket.

[lucky44]

I agree with others,I have never heard anything from my Pro Kennex 7G,nor my hitting partners.I played outdoors in the summer and now have been playing indoors,at my home when I swing after bringing it close to my ear I hear a very feeble sound,I doubt you are ever going to hear any kind of sound while playing.

[dyldore]

Originally Posted by TimeToPlaySets

My brother swears by using a tennis elbow strap.
Does anyone else feel these things help?
Or just more placebo marketing snake oil?

http://tinyurl.com/8nodd3h

+1 for the elbow strap. I started getting pretty bad elbow/upper arm pain after hitting for 3-4 times a week for 3+ hours at a time, even with icing. I have been wearing the strap while I hit now for about 2 months and after the first couple of days I no longer had pain while hitting, or after. I use the Band-It, and I still ice often, especially if it was a long/intense hit. My strings/racket remained the same throughout this.

[sunof tennis]

Originally Posted by TimeToPlaySets

Is this statement slightly off-base? After reading this forum for a few weeks, I am under the impression that a blanket statement of “Just get a new stick” is incomplete. On the contrary, many modern sticks are horrible for your elbow. For example, the popular Babolat is stiff as hell, and some of the worst rackets made for elbows. AeroPro flex rating = 70. Pure Drive = 71. Terrible, right?

Supposedly, Pro Kennex makes the most arm friendly rackets out there.

My 2005 Head liquid metal 107sqin is also one of the most flex rackets made (Flex = 5 However, I am also playing with a vintage 1990s Dunlop Revelation that is max’ed out on the flex/control rating (low power, max control) I don't know the flex rating, but the Dunlop is even more comfortable than my Head, which is at 58 flex (and 52lbs tension)

So, I feel that my racket is not remotely the issue. It's my swing.

However, I am going to restring with a multi-filament string at a low tension. My current string is at 48, So I will need to adjust to ball flying off the racket (which will allow me to hit less hard)

Wow. A sensible approach to the problem!

[fundrazer]

I am a bit guilty of this. I played with a PDR for a while during maybe my 2nd year of starting up tennis. At one point I started getting some wrist pain. For a while it was just while I was playing, but then I noticed the pain again when I would pull textbooks out of my top locker in high school. Was pretty sure the racquet was the culprit. I think I've always been told I have decent technique, think it came from some very solid teaching from a tennis friend of mine.

Anyway, decided to demo some new racquets instead of a string switch. Settled on my MG prestige MP with x-one. Haven't had any issues with wrist pain since. Sometimes I think maybe a switch to something x-one in the PDR might have been okay. Not sure why I didn't at least give it a go.

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by fundrazer

I am a bit guilty of this. I played with a PDR for a while during maybe my 2nd year of starting up tennis. At one point I started getting some wrist pain. For a while it was just while I was playing, but then I noticed the pain again when I would pull textbooks out of my top locker in high school. Was pretty sure the racquet was the culprit. I think I've always been told I have decent technique, think it came from some very solid teaching from a tennis friend of mine.

Anyway, decided to demo some new racquets instead of a string switch. Settled on my MG prestige MP with x-one. Haven't had any issues with wrist pain since. Sometimes I think maybe a switch to something x-one in the PDR might have been okay. Not sure why I didn't at least give it a go.

A string change is always simpler than a racket change but glad to hear you changed both to a more comfy setup.

[superdave3]

Originally Posted by ced

I've played the 7g, 5g, Ki5, Ki15 and now the Qtour and never been able to hear this sound people talk about. PK's are just great playing tennis racquets that happen to benefit those with TE.

I don't know, maybe my hearing is bad and I'm just not aware of it !

I was also going to switch to a PK racquet for TE problems, and I was going to demo some, but since you have played with so many, perhaps you could tell us which one(s) you preferred most, to help save me some time.

[yonexRx32]

I can speak from experience regarding Tennis Elbow (TE). For about 20 years I played amateur tennis without ever experiencing any tennis elbow. I always wondered how other people got it and what all the fuss was. I was using a flat stroke, probably not very refined, thus probably incorrect. Yet I never had any trouble. My rackets were a pair of Wilsons 6.0 Pete Sampras Autograph bought in 1996. Long story short, two years ago I developed the dreaded TE after only three sessions hitting with a highly recommended stick, very popular with pros on the tour. I loved the accuracy but within three sessions of hard hitting, I couldn't lift my dry cleaning anymore. Several things had changed: I was now almost 46, I was hitting with a lot more topspin, I was playing against much stronger players: the ball was coming hard and fast, I was using a very different, clearly stiffer racket. Once the pain set in, no change in (modern) racket would make it go away. Not even going back to rackets which previously had given me no trouble. Some were clearly more easy on the arm and allowed me to play, but the pain was still there and, on occasion, shot through the arm.
The most gentle racket on the arm, and the only one I enjoyed playing with afterwards was the Dunlop Max 200g Pro. I have played with PK Ki5, PK Redondo (great racket by the way), many Prince, Volkl, and Head. Once the tendons (and probably the nerves too) are hurt, even gentle activity will make the pain persist. Only prolonged rest (it's been over six months now) has made the pain go away. I have hit a few times since, always with the Dunlop Max 200g Pro and more recently with a Prince Vortex. The Max 200g is definitely my favorite, so much so that I have become associated with a startup that aims to bring back injection molding racquets. To conclude, age may be playing a role in TE. Take a long break until the pain completely goes away. warm up before playing, use stretch bands, and use a real racket (from the 90s probably), not the latest fad and you should be fine.

[NLBwell]

If your technique is perfect and you don't have any underlying problems with your arm, you can probably play with anything and not get tennis elbow. However, for those of us who aren't perfect, the racket will make a difference. Some rackets, especially stiff ones, will only let you get away with a minimal level of imperfection, others will let you get away with much more. Of course everyone's flaws are different, so different rackets will have different effects.
Technique is the major factor, but the racket can make the difference between pain and happiness.

[tmc5005]

The most important factors to consider when buying a racquet that will help prevent and or mitigate elbow problems or wrist and shoulder problems for that matter
1. Balance with Head Lite balance being best
2. Flexibilty with more flexibilty being best
3. Weight with heavier being better
4. Beam Profile with thinner being better
5. Length with the standard 27" length being better than the oversize racquets
I found a listing of the top arm-friendly racquets at http://tenniselbowracquet/tennis-racquets

[v-verb]

Originally Posted by tmc5005

The most important factors to consider when buying a racquet that will help prevent and or mitigate elbow problems or wrist and shoulder problems for that matter
1. Balance with Head Lite balance being best
2. Flexibilty with more flexibilty being best
3. Weight with heavier being better
4. Beam Profile with thinner being better
5. Length with the standard 27" length being better than the oversize racquets
I found a listing of the top arm-friendly racquets at http://tenniselbowracquet/tennis-racquets

http://tenniselbowracquet.com/tennis-racquets/