Index finger / wrist pain after tennis

[aminadream]

It’s a new pain and it doesn’t really bother me during the hit but I notice it immediately after. It lasts about a day and then starts feeling better until my next hit.

The pain isn’t exactly IN my index finger, but the pain kicks in when I use it, like if I need to grip something or push buttons on the microwave. The actual pain is located closer to the wrist, sort of where my thumb and my index finger connect at my wrist. Right at the base.

I have a semi western grip on my forehand if that helps to diagnose. I haven’t drastically changed anything about my strokes lately. I’m just playing, and it’s starting to hurt regularly.

i’ll visit the doctor if it persists, but in the meantime, I’m curious if anyone else has this problem or knows what it could be.

For what it’s worth, I already wear a wrist widget for my ulnar sided pain. I thought for a moment that maybe the brace was compressing something, but I fiddled with it and no luck.

 

[esgee48]

Is the bottom part of your hand in contact with the hard edge of the butt cap? When was the last time you replaced the grip on your frame? Some grips compress over time and shock that had been absorbed by the grip is now transmitted. Did you change the follow thru on your FH?

 

[socallefty]

Are you playing with poly strings for more than 10-20 hours and at tensions greater than 50-55 lbs? If so, the poly might be dead and causing pain - restring more often.

Stiff polys like ALU Power and RPM Blast cause wrist/elbow discomfort for me within 10 hours while soft polys last about 15-20 hours before I get aches and I string in the low-mid forties.

 

[aminadream]

esgee48 - I did adjust my followthrough a bit in the last few weeks, making an effort to keep the impact-side of my racquet facing the opponent (not full windshield wiper, since I know that's hard on the wrist). I've not changed the grip on my frame, but I also have 6 racquets and rotate them, so I can't imagine that the grips have compressed that much over the 2 years I've had them.

socallefty - I've been playing with Weiss Cannon Ultra Cable 17 for the last 2 years or so, at 50 lbs. It's rated as one of the softer polys. I could try switching but that would be a big PITA to find a suitable replacement. It's such a great string: it has amazing spin potential, it's comfortable (unless it's actually the cause of my wrist pain), it's cheap, and it lasts me 15-20 hours of play. The wrist pain came on in the last week after two years of playing with this string. With that info, do you think it could still be the string?

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Didn't read the other posts so forgive me if I'm bringing something that's already been addressed.

Improper grip size? Squeezing the racket too tightly? Your grip should be fairly relaxed most of the time. Obviously not so loose that the racquet falls out of your hand. As much as possible, support your racket with your non-dominant hand. It should take most of the weight of the racket when you are not executing your stroke (after the unit turn on your g'strokes). This should help to keep the grip of your dominant hand relaxed most of the time.

Too many mishits with an unforgiving stiff string (poly?) and a racquet that produces too much frame shock.

You might be dealing with a pinched nerve. Possibly the median nerve. And possibly where the nerve runs between the metacarpals or in your wrist.

Pinched Nerve In Your Finger: Causes, Treatments, and More

If you feel a tingling, numbness, weakness, or pain in your finger, you could be dealing with a pinched nerve. Typically, the affected nerve is in your neck, shoulder, or arm, rather than your actual finger.

www.healthline.com

 

[ollinger]

Will say it yet again --- an important piece of diagnostic information is the subject's age. The conditions that can cause pain for a 20 year old are different than the ones that have to be considered for a 60 year old

 

[Deleted member 776614]

I noticed there's a pic of you playing in your Avatar. I don't use SW grip but I'm wondering if your grip looks too big?

 

[aminadream]

SystematicAnomaly - It might be my radial nerve. It hurts on the back side, not the palm side. I'm playing with the Yonex Ezone DR 100 Lite and Weiss Cannon Ultra Cable at 50 lbs.

ollinger - I'm 38. So right in the middle there... not sure how much that helps things.

Here's a rally:

 

[aminadream]

Joe Garfield - my PT told me to go a little bigger because of my ulnar-sided injury. I also have really long fingers.

 

[yossarian]

Do you have radial nerve tension? Sensation changes? Numbness or tingling?

 

[esgee48]

As an experiment, try increasing the size of the flare at the end of the handle.

 

[Deleted member 776614]

My PT said to go bigger too, the thought being that you need less strength to withstand the torque at the handle. The error with that thought is that, if you have to spread your hands open more than they are when relaxed, you're putting other muscles in tension. So if you switched to a bigger grip, and now have to actively open/spread your first finger and it's not going back to relaxed, you're putting tension in the muscles right where you have your new injury. He said that made sense. Its kind of like when you massage muscles that are loose versus muscles that are tight - it's way more painful to push on a muscle when it's tight.

I have long fingers to (men's large glove needed specifically for length) and a 4-3/8 without OG is as big as I need. I play a 4-1/4 w/ OG and my hand is relaxed and I don't feel like I have to squeeze that much before contact.

 

[socallefty]

socallefty - I've been playing with Weiss Cannon Ultra Cable 17 for the last 2 years or so, at 50 lbs. It's rated as one of the softer polys. I could try switching but that would be a big PITA to find a suitable replacement. It's such a great string: it has amazing spin potential, it's comfortable (unless it's actually the cause of my wrist pain), it's cheap, and it lasts me 15-20 hours of play. The wrist pain came on in the last week after two years of playing with this string. With that info, do you think it could still be the string?

Do you feel more discomfort after 12-15 hours with this string than in the first 10 hours? If so, try cutting it out after 12 hours for a couple of weeks and see if the pain goes away. I get wrist/elbow discomfort with ALU Power and RPM Blast after 8-10 hours, elbow discomfort with HyperG and Cyclone Tour after roughly 15 hours. Only HyperG Soft is a poly that I like that lasts with no discomfort till it breaks around 20 hours and I cut out the rest. Also, you could try reducing the tension to 46 or 47 lbs as most polys don’t change their performance too much in that 45-50 lb range, bu it could make a difference for comfort.

If you restring every 12 hours at 46 lbs for a few weeks and the pain goes away, the problem was likely the string. If not, the reason for the pain might be elsewhere. I know it rains a lot in Oregon - if you played with wet, old balls a few times in a short period, that can cause wrist pain also. It looks like you and your opponent hit hard in the video and you might need a heavier racquet that is more stable even with a loose grip. With your lightweight racquet, you might have to hold the grip tighter to withstand the shock and that contributes to injuries also. Are you playing more often against heavy hitters lately or playing more often in general?

Nice hitting in the video. If you want to try a different string, I highly recommend HyperG Soft strung around 46-47 lbs - nice combination of spin, control, power (for a poly) with more comfort than similar playing polys. If you want to try a different racquet, I recommend the Pure Strike Tour.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

SystematicAnomaly - It might be my radial nerve. It hurts on the back side, not the palm side. I'm playing with the Yonex Ezone DR 100 Lite and Weiss Cannon Ultra Cable at 50 lbs.

ollinger - I'm 38. So right in the middle there... not sure how much that helps things.

Here's a rally:

Nice hitting there. From the sound of your ball impacts, you seem to be getting decent spin and power. Am I right about that?

For as hard as you appear to be hitting, your racket and string choice could very well be a contributing factor for your hand pain. You might try a softer string. Or, at the very least, reduce your string tension even more (mid 40s, perhaps).

But the bigger culprit might be your racquet choice. Did not see it on this TW site but I saw the specs on the TExpress site. It calls out a strung weight of 10 oz (283g) & a swing weight of 306. Both of these numbers appear to be way too low for how hard you are hitting. This could be producing too much frame shock which can aggravate your condition. Probably not the sole reason for your hand / index finger pain but very likely a contributor.

Try adding some weight to the frame to see if you can get it up to 10.5 oz (298g) or more. Some at 3 & 9 to improve the stability (and twist weight) of the frame. You might also add some weight in the handle or near the handle if you don't want to change the balance of the racket too much. Doing this, you should be increasing the swing weight w/o changing the balance point very much.

Alternately, you might try looking for a different frame that will be kinder to your hand (and arm). Prince & Volkl make some very good, low shock, raccqets. Some of the Yonex and Wilson frames are quite good as well in this respect. I'm not a fan of looking at stiffness / flex ratings. You might look at TW Comfort scores instead (only shows up for raccqets they've actually play-tested & reviewed). Look for a Comfort score in the 80s (or higher) and look to see if more than just one or two people have complained about arm or shoulder pain of some sort.

You should probably shoot for something in the 10.5 to 11+ oz range and a swingweight closer to 315+. And couple that with softer strings or a lower string tension.

You might consider the current Ezone 100 or Ezone 100L. The 100 is a bit over 11 oz (318g), has a SW of 322 and a respectable Comfort score (82) even tho its flex rating is high (which I suggested ignoring).

The Ezone 100L weighs in at 10.6 oz (301g) strung and has a balance that is on the head-light side (almost as HL as your current DR 100L). The downside is that its SW is only 310 (only slightly higher than your current racquet). TW did not play-test Review this version so there is no Comfort score available. Don't know how much frame shock this one might produce but the TW description does call out a specific vibration dampening feature in the handle (which may or may not adequately suppress or isolate frame shock).

 

[aminadream]

Well, I think I found the problem. I’m still going to test it a few more times but I played a pretty hard session today and my wrist doesn’t hurt any more than it did at the beginning of the day.

It was my Wrist Widget. It’s a small brace I wear for my ulnar sided injury, but because it presses on all sides of my wrist, I suspected that it may have been compressing a nerve on the radial side. Today I played without it and taped my wrist instead in a way that reduced pressure on that nerve, and it feels so much better.

i’ll report back in a few days to confirm, but I think this is it!

 

[aminadream]

Also, SystematicAnomaly, in case you aren’t aware, keep in mind that TExpress offers racquet specs that are unstrung, while Tennis Warehouse specs are strung. Strung, my racquet is about 10.8 oz or so. Does that change your assertion at all?

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Also, SystematicAnomaly, in case you aren’t aware, keep in mind that TExpress offers racquet specs that are unstrung, while Tennis Warehouse specs are strung. Strung, my racquet is about 10.8 oz or so. Does that change your assertion at all?

Actually, the data I got from the TE site were supposed to be strung specs, as I had indicated. They had the unstrung weight listed as 9.5 oz and the strung wt at 10.0 oz. The diff between strung & unstrung is normally 0.5-0.6 oz (and not a delta of 0.8 oz as your 10.8 oz racket might suggest).

Also, for a frame that light, the unstrung SW would probably be less than 290 (rather than the 306 listed).

The data that TE had published could have been pre-production specs. I've been burned by that before. In fact, a demo racket I had tried turned out to be a pre-prod (prototype) frame that felt much better than the 2 rackets I had subsequently purchased -- even tho I had matched the weight, balance, string type and string tension to the demo racket as closely as possible.

After being disappointed in the performance of the rackets I had purchased, I checked out the demo racket again and discovered that the head shape was somewhat different (a bit longer and narrower). Other characteristics, such as stiffness or material composition, could very well have changed as well.

Or perhaps the TE data given was for early production frames. Quite often manufacturers have changed some characteristics / specs of a frame, over time, w/o any indication that such changes have occured.

Spoiler: EZone DR 100 Lite specs

The TW forum will probably not allow a link from TE to be fully expressed. If you Google the following terms (without the quotes), you should see the specs specs that I came across:

"ezone dr 100 lite specs express"

What's even stranger is that TW did carry and review the standard version = EZone DR 100. The specs listed in this old review show a strung weight of 11.1 oz. That's only slightly heavier than the 10.8 oz weight of your raccqet. The difference between Lite versions & standard versions are typically much greater than this.

https://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Reviews/YDR1HB/YDR1HBReview.html

 

[aminadream]

Oh interesting, @SystemicAnomaly. I must've had old info.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Oh interesting, @SystemicAnomaly. I must've had old info.

I was thinking just the opposite, if your racquet is actually 10.8 oz. Would expect that the specs published by TEx would be when that racquet first came out (or tested just before it was released). If your specs are different than that, I would assume that yours is newer.

I might still be tempted to add a bit of weight at 3 & 9 to see if that is kinder to your hand / wrist. Might also consider the string (& tension) suggestion from SoCalLefty. Better Comfort score than your current string (altho yours appears to be a little bit better than the Solinco Tour Bite). Not so sure about the Pure Strike Tour suggestion tho. Comfort Score is a bit low at 77 for Gen 3 version (older version might be even lower than that). On average, Yonex frames are kinder to hand / arm than Babolat frames. TW describes the Bab PS Tour as a "demanding racket" for very experienced players.

Might consider these changes until finger / wrist is 100%. How is the other adjustment you mentioned working out?

 

[aminadream]

I was thinking just the opposite,

Oh, by old info I meant I thought TExpress only published unstrung specs. This is good to know.

I will definitely try stringing at a slightly lower tension. I had a rest day yesterday but I'm hitting later today so I'll test out the wrist taping again and report back.

 

[aminadream]

Well, @SystemicAnomaly, it's better but not perfect. During today's hit I felt some pain at the base of my thumb, and strangely, my middle finger. Diagrams suggest this still could be a radial nerve issue. Might try decreasing tension and going from there.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Well, @SystemicAnomaly, it's better but not perfect. During today's hit I felt some pain at the base of my thumb, and strangely, my middle finger. Diagrams suggest this still could be a radial nerve issue. Might try decreasing tension and going from there.

Did this change / shift come about from taping the wrist? Are you keeping the hand / fingers relaxed during play and using your other hand to support the weight of the racket frequently?

Might need x-rays or MRI to confirm nerve entrapment suspicions. Perhaps massage, physical therapy and specific exercises can alleviate pain or even correct the situation.

 

[yossarian]

If it's your radial nerve, it seems as if it’s your superficial radial nerve, which is a sensory nerve. Wartenberg's syndrome is the specific name for the entrapment. If that's the case, I'd expect you to feel sensation issues, numbness or tingling, or radiating pain. You can do an upper limb tension test with radial nerve bias to see if symptoms get worse. You can also tap along the course of the nerve (Tinel's test) to see if your sxs are reproduced.

It honestly does not sound like nerve pain to me, but who knows?

Obviously this is impossible to know without seeing you in person. If you're comfortable, see a doctor or PT in person and they'll give you a better answer.

 

[aminadream]

I've also read a bit about De Quervain's tenosynovitis but I fail the most common at-home test for that. But you're right, I won't know for sure until I see a doc. I might still tweak some equipment stuff before going just to see if I can mitigate the pain on my own. @SystemicAnomaly, I'm not really sure what instigated this, but it's encouraging that the pain is lessened when I don't wear my brace. I am following through on my FH slightly differently, which may also be causing a bit of new stress. Will need to tinker.

 

[aminadream]

Well, I have to say that several days of playing with tape replacing my brace and the pain seems to be subsiding. I feel virtually no pain right now. Fingers crossed, I think that was it!

 

[comeback]

I've also read a bit about De Quervain's tenosynovitis but I fail the most common at-home test for that. But you're right, I won't know for sure until I see a doc. I might still tweak some equipment stuff before going just to see if I can mitigate the pain on my own. @SystemicAnomaly, I'm not really sure what instigated this, but it's encouraging that the pain is lessened when I don't wear my brace. I am following through on my FH slightly differently, which may also be causing a bit of new stress. Will need to tinker.

How did you tape your wrist? What kind of tape?

 

[aminadream]

Here's a photo. I taped it on a diagonal to reduce pressure in the area (see arrow) that was likely causing the pain while still applying pressure on the tendon causing my original injury (ulnar side). See how the Wrist Widget comes straight across and presses on that area? The tape I used is called Elastikon and it's kind of amazing in how well it sticks. It also has a stretchiness which makes it very forgiving while providing good structure.