Hi, i'm digging up this thread because it shows up on google when you search for upper arm pain.
I struggled with this and managed to move past it! I´m playing everyday now, pain free! Used to be impossible to play 2 days in a row and some days i couldn't even push the hand brake in my car without feeling a lot of pain.
First watch this video about tennis elbow:
This is what i did:
1 - If you have any symptoms of a pinched nerve go to a chiropractor or osteopath to get it fixed. In my case i couldn't turn my head completely to one side and i did have a pinched nerve in my back.
2 - Work out your back, shoulder and arm (biceps, triceps and flexors) muscles. These are some good videos for simple but very useful exercises, which i do almost every day:
- Shoulder & Rotator Cuff Exercises for Tennis Players
- Shoulder & Rotator Cuff Exercises for Tennis Players
- Auto Massage
3 - Most important! Work on the serve technique! Film yourself serving and compare with videos online to see what you're doing wrong. In my case my toss was going in the wrong place (not in front enough and too much to my left) which made the shoulder get into very bad positions. Also the follow through with the left arm is very important. You've got to let your body rotate fluidly or the energy from the impact of the ball wont be fully released and it will cause pain.
4 - Finally, but very important, read the book "The Inner Game of Tennis" which will help you and your muscles relax and let your body do the correct serve motion.
Hope this helps everyone feeling that upper arm pain and consequently shoulder pain (tennis elbow). This kind of pain has nothing to do with the racquet and strings. Believe me i tried every combination possible and nothing worked until i did those 4 things! Don't waste money on arm and elbow bands either.
The elbow pain that comes from groundstrokes is another different story and i don't know much about it, fortunately, but i guess working the muscles and using a arm friendly racquet should help, possibly the shoulder band too, but in my opinion the solution is all about building muscles and correcting technique.
Remember...no pain is supposed to be forever!