Soft, plush, flexy rackets really best for tennis elbow?

[richsox]

I've seen upteen thousand threads on this subject, which typically suggest that plush, soft, flexy rackets are generallty best for tennis elbow. Well here's one to go and figure out.....I've played with Pure Drive's for several years, and never, ever suffered from tennis elbow (sure, now and again my shoulder felt like exploding), yet since converting (about 6 weeks ago)to so called "player's rackets" which are reputed as being arm friendly, I am now suffering from what I guess is tennis elbow (pain on inside of elbow).....

I'm going back to my Pure Drive's.....

Long Live stiff rackets!

 

[HitItHarder]

I honestly believe that tennis elbow has as much to do with your technique as it does the racquet and strings. I would be willing to bet your new players racquet has you doing something different with your swing that is causing the elbow flair up.

 

[meowmix]

^Most likely, the extra weight is causing your swing to be a little slower. The smaller head size combined with a slightly slower swing may mean that you're mishitting more. Also, most players frames are less forgiving and more harsh than the PD is outside the sweet spot. All that may be causing you arm problems.

 

[richsox]

I honestly believe that tennis elbow has as much to do with your technique as it does the racquet and strings. I would be willing to bet your new players racquet has you doing something different with your swing that is causing the elbow flair up.

I do understand your view and I have to agree that I do believe the racket had me chaging my style, as I have been eager to step up to a more "all-court" game, as oppsoed to a "Blast an ace" and hope to stay in a rally with my PD's

^Most likely, the extra weight is causing your swing to be a little slower. The smaller head size combined with a slightly slower swing may mean that you're mishitting more. Also, most players frames are less forgiving and more harsh than the PD is outside the sweet spot. All that may be causing you arm problems.

I do get what you're saying about "outside the sweetspot". I have noticed that when I hit in the sweetspot, I get rewarded (like that drive down the fairway to the green kinda feeling), and when I don't - it's ugly!.

I've tried converting to a player's racket (Pure Storm GT w lead added under grip and ProKennex Ki5 - both strung with VS Gut at 57lbs. and both of which are excellent weapons) to assist me to be more focused on technique.

I'm going to lay down my player's racket's for a few weeks and return to a PD GT, and see what happens.

I played with my PD Team this evening and my elbow bothered me less.

Me = mid-40's - average club player

 

[Love50]

Pain on inside is "golfer's elbow". That's what I have and yes, when I fiddle with my vintage frames, the differences in weight/balance/smaller head can aggravate the elbow.

 

[ccapp]

I've seen upteen thousand threads on this subject, which typically suggest that plush, soft, flexy rackets are generallty best for tennis elbow. Well here's one to go and figure out.....I've played with Pure Drive's for several years, and never, ever suffered from tennis elbow (sure, now and again my shoulder felt like exploding), yet since converting (about 6 weeks ago)to so called "player's rackets" which are reputed as being arm friendly, I am now suffering from what I guess is tennis elbow (pain on inside of elbow).....

I'm going back to my Pure Drive's.....

Long Live stiff rackets!

Tennis (outside) or golfers (inside) elbow is a mysterious thing. If the cause is tennis, one variable that takes some of the guess work out of it is the string. The vibration caused by the racquet hitting the ball, traveling up the frame, and eventually inflamming the tendons in your elbow can be alleviated with a soft string that cushions the ball impact. Other folks are right, vibration can be caused by missing the sweet spot, which is more likely with a players racquet, assuming you are talking about a 95sq. inch head or smaller.

For a long time there was a theory that lighter, stiffer racquets were the problem. I guess that's true in the sense that they vibrate more on impact. However, not all tendonitis is caused by vibration. Technique can certainly be a factor, because your arm ends up being stressed, and in a compromised position at impact. However, tendonitis is also caused by a tightening of the main muscle group attached to the tendons that are inflamed. Tight muscle development can be directly linked with playing with a heavy racquet. If the heavy racquet causes your arm to "bulk up," and the muscle fibers lose elasticity, tendon problems frequently ensue. Remember to stay loose when you swing the racquet. Gripping a heavy racquet too tightly will be an arm killer in no time.

One more thought: Sometimes tennis ends up being a red herring. If you are doing lots of activities with your playing arm, it could be a cumulative effect. When I had tendonitis in my playing arm, I stopped carrying groceries with that arm, picking up the dog with that arm, etc. I even bought an electric toothbrush and used my left arm to brush my teeth. I think that allowed my right arm to atrophy just enough to loosen up, and that helped me get over it, not to mention the fact that I went back to my Volkl, and NXT Tour 17 guage.

 

[Al1978]

Playing frequency and recovery time, not to mention technique, surely have a greater cumulative effect on arm health than does racquet stiffness alone. So if you're experiencing arm trouble, don't ditch the racquet until you've considered the other variables. But with proper technique, I do believe that a relatively hefty and flexible racquet strung with a multi or natural gut is the most arm-friendly racquet option, provided you can swing it correctly and without fatigue over the course of a match.