Another Tennis Elbow question/thread

[jk175d]

I've never in my life had even any hints of tennis elbow, but the last two times I hit I had some issues. After one match my forearm was sore the next day, felt inflamed, but not the elbow. After a few days it had mostly gone away and when I hit again it felt fine while playing but after I finished the rest of the afternoon my forearm and this time, elbow, became increasingly sore. The next morning my elbow was almost cripplingly bad. I could barely lift my arm and if a pressed my middle finger and thumb together it was very painful in my elbow.

It felt better day by day, now 7-10 days later I don't notice it at all except some motions or arm activities cause me to feel a twinge is still there.

It seems strange that it would have come on so suddenly and not gradually over weeks. I haven't made a racquet change for a year, nor any recent string type/tension changes.

So thinking about what variables might have made the TE come on the only thing I can think is it was quite cold those last two times playing. And though I switched to the PS97 last spring and never have had issues, this was probably the first time I played in the cold with it and likewise with the Volkl V-Star. The V-Star was also about 2 months old, so maybe a bad combination of old, dead poly in the cold?

I haven't hit again yet, but I plan to string up with a soft multi before I do. My question is, since this is the first time I've had this issue, if I "fix" the conditions that probably caused it when is it safe for me to give it a go again? Are any of the bands worth anything protection wise? Thanks for any advise.

 

[scotus]

Your TE could have been building up gradually, except you did not feel the symptom until it got past a certain level.

How old are you? Many tennis players don't get elbow problems their whole lifetime ... until they reach about 40 years of age. That's around when your body slows down and starts losing the ability to recover/heal like it used to.

One of the most important things you can do (and most people just don't have the patience to do) is icing your elbow. Sit in front of TV for 15 minutes with an ice pack over your elbow, press it against the arm rest. Do that several times a day until pain goes away.

Then you can do your stretching, theraband flexbar training, etc, before you get back on court. Band-It is a good band to wear, except it can actually get in the way of your recovery if you use it in place of resting and rehab.

 

[HouTex]

I agree with scotus, except that heat helped me way more than icing did. I'm hoping to return to tennis in the next month or so.

 

[jk175d]

Your TE could have been building up gradually, except you did not feel the symptom until it got past a certain level.

How old are you? Many tennis players don't get elbow problems their whole lifetime ... until they reach about 40 years of age. That's around when your body slows down and starts losing the ability to recover/heal like it used to.

One of the most important things you can do (and most people just don't have the patience to do) is icing your elbow. Sit in front of TV for 15 minutes with an ice pack over your elbow, press it against the arm rest. Do that several times a day until pain goes away.

Then you can do your stretching, theraband flexbar training, etc, before you get back on court. Band-It is a good band to wear, except it can actually get in the way of your recovery if you use it in place of resting and rehab.

I'm hoping it was due to the cold dead poly on the PS97. I'm mid 40's so age might be a factor, though I've been playing a little less in the last year or so 1-2 times a week instead of the 4-5 times/wk of the previous few years, so I'm giving myself more recovery time than I used to.

So is it a bad idea to try to hit before it's 100% gone?

 

[scotus]

I'm hoping it was due to the cold dead poly on the PS97. I'm mid 40's so age might be a factor, though I've been playing a little less in the last year or so 1-2 times a week instead of the 4-5 times/wk of the previous few years, so I'm giving myself more recovery time than I used to.

So is it a bad idea to try to hit before it's 100% gone?

Sounds like you've got some tennis mileage on your body. So you'd want to be extra-careful how you deal with this condition.

If you play through pain, you might very easily exacerbate the condition and may be forced to hang the racquet up for months, possibly up to a year.

Better to take some extra caution now and a little more time off than to pay for it later, don't you think?

Speaking of cold poly, I have had to lower the tension considerably in the winter season to maintain similar-feeling string bed stiffness.

 

[atp2015]

My experience - one particular racket(will remain unnamed because your mileage may vary) caused more TE soreness than others. I started regular arm and shoulder strengthening exercises and has been TE free. Some ideas for you there...

 

[bobtodd]

I play 6-7 Times a week, singles and doubles and use the PS97 with V-Star 17 @ 52 lbs. I'm almost 52, I supplement tennis with spin bike and light weights 4 times a week. I believe the resistance training has helped keep me on the court.

 

[Alien]

Dead poly does not exist period. It only decreases its tension (check the book Technical tennis or sth like it). Cold could make it more tense but I doubt that is the cause. Most probably been growing inside your arm for some months.

My TE was cured when I changed racquets, from Juice to Blade. I would really try other sticks now as it seems an early stage.

 

[HouTex]

I'm hoping it was due to the cold dead poly on the PS97. I'm mid 40's so age might be a factor, though I've been playing a little less in the last year or so 1-2 times a week instead of the 4-5 times/wk of the previous few years, so I'm giving myself more recovery time than I used to.

So is it a bad idea to try to hit before it's 100% gone?

I think so. I was 51 when my TE started about 19 months ago. I blew it off as soreness that would go away with continued play, exercise, stretching, etc. I stayed active, playing golf and tennis and after a weekend doubles tournament in June 2014 my arm was toast. I've only played a few times since, but I'm hoping to ease back into the game in the next few weeks.