Tennis Elbow. Am I doomed?

[badjelix]

Hi guys... this sad topic again... I started developing TE like a year ago. I was medically diagnosed with it. Starting using Powerball and making eccentric exercises (similar to Flexbar, but with weights). I was recovering nicely, but started playing again like after 1 month and all came back... forced a little bit thinking it would stop, but nah. Even changed my technique... Nothing... Since January 2021 I have been resting... As I said, I changed my technique to a more elbow friendly one, changed the gear! New racket (Head Gravity Pro) with some soft strings (don't remeber but they are Technifibre), with low tension... continued with Powerballs and Eccentric wxercises like 3 times a week... Came back on April 2021.. I had no pain. Started playing was super cool. First day was felt good, only felt the pain like on 2 super strong forehands (the pain only appears on forehands). Then, after 3 days I played again... But now I was feeling like before... the pain started appearing and it felt like I was just restarting everything from the beginning... terrible pain playing... as the day after I was already feelling better... tried again after 2 days... PAIN!
So... I think I did everything I could... am I doomed to have this forever? I am only 23 years old, I still want to play a lot of tennis... But I am not sure if it will be possible!!! I have no other injury like such in my body... even played basketball for some years and I never had an elbow/knee/ankle injury like this one on tennis (I played tennis from like 9 to 15 years old and basketball from 17 to 21, so you don't think that I am a guy with no tennis technique xD).
Maybe I restarted playing too soon? Or should restart easier? Like play only once a week or something... What do you guys think?
ps: sorry for the long post

 

[cortado]

I think really a prolonged period of rest is required. 6 months minimum. You're only 23, 6 months is no time at all if it means avoiding a chronic problem.

 

[DaylightBlue]

Does your forearm feel very sore or do you feel you sometimes have the grip the handle tight when trying to rip it?

 

[Slowtwitcher]

I'd pay more attention to the strings if I were you. I once got bad TE pain from playing with Technifibre strings on a Gravity Pro. The strings were Black Code, which is a fairly stiff poly. I cut them off, played for a while with synthetic gut and pain went away.

 

[badjelix]

Does your forearm feel very sore or do you feel you sometimes have the grip the handle tight when trying to rip it?

is really in the elbow. Kinda feels like it goes almost a bit to the tricep. Nothing on the grip. My new racket has a larger grip size too and really feels great, in that aspect

 

[badjelix]

I'd pay more attention to the strings if I were you. I once got bad TE pain from playing with Technifibre strings on a Gravity Pro. The strings were Black Code, which is a fairly stiff poly. I cut them off, played for a while with synthetic gut and pain went away.

i'm not sure which model my strings are... but I am sure they are arm friendly strings... and the tension is slightly lower than what it is supposed to be (like 1-2kg less)

 

[movdqa]

I gave it a month, bought the most arm-friendly racquet I could find, went out to hit. Hit three balls and apologized and left. I didn't hit any balls for six months and was able to play after that. One month is nothing. You re-injure it doing everyday things unless you immobilize it and I really don't know of anyone that does that for TE/GE. So put the tennis racquet down and take up something else or learn to hit with your other arm. I like running so I ran during my time off from tennis. One of my tennis hitting partners developed lefty-strokes. So he can play all the strokes lefty or righty. But it took him ten years.

 

[yossarian]

I think really a prolonged period of rest is required. 6 months minimum. You're only 23, 6 months is no time at all if it means avoiding a chronic problem.

This is absolutely incorrect. If you don’t load the tendon it is going to heal defectively

 

[badjelix]

I gave it a month, bought the most arm-friendly racquet I could find, went out to hit. Hit three balls and apologized and left. I didn't hit any balls for six months and was able to play after that. One month is nothing. You re-injure it doing everyday things unless you immobilize it and I really don't know of anyone that does that for TE/GE. So put the tennis racquet down and take up something else or learn to hit with your other arm. I like running so I ran during my time off from tennis. One of my tennis hitting partners developed lefty-strokes. So he can play all the strokes lefty or righty. But it took him ten years.

after 6 months you felt normal? Like you could play your tennis the same as before TE?

 

[Slowtwitcher]

This is absolutely incorrect. If you don’t load the tendon it is going to heal defectively

This. Rest doesn't really help.

 

[yossarian]

This. Rest doesn't really help.

It helps to abate the acute pain, but there really shouldn't be much with a tendinopathy unless you're performing the aggravating activity. So definitely stop tennis for now and do another bout of rehab. It sounds like OP did it on his own before. Consider seeing someone who can 1) determine that the dx of tennis elbow is actually accurate and 2) perform manual work while also providing a more comprehensive treatment plan

 

[cortado]

This is absolutely incorrect. If you don’t load the tendon it is going to heal defectively

The tendon is being 'loaded' all the time by life anyway. Pick up any object - loading. Open/shut a door - loading. Etc.

 

[Deleted member 776614]

is really in the elbow. Kinda feels like it goes almost a bit to the tricep. Nothing on the grip. My new racket has a larger grip size too and really feels great, in that aspect

That doesn't sound like tennis elbow. Tennis elbow is inflammation/injury to the tendon that attaches the forearm muscles to the bone and is felt at the outside of the elbow or toward the forearm.

Please describe where the pain is, and in what circumstances you feel it - do you ever feel it when not playing tennis?

 

[yossarian]

The tendon is being 'loaded' all the time by life anyway. Pick up any object - loading. Open/shut a door - loading. Etc.

Cool. Tell anyone with achilles tendinopathy that all they need to do to therapeutically load the tendon is walk

 

[movdqa]

after 6 months you felt normal? Like you could play your tennis the same as before TE?

My arm felt fine for tennis. My footwork, etc. was off of course.

 

[badjelix]

That doesn't sound like tennis elbow. Tennis elbow is inflammation/injury to the tendon that attaches the forearm muscles to the bone and is felt at the outside of the elbow or toward the forearm.

Please describe where the pain is, and in what circumstances you feel it - do you ever feel it when not playing tennis?

thanks for the concern but it really is. I did a medical exam. Even did X ray on shoulder for some reason do make sure it is TE. It was an ultrasound scan that confirmed it

 

[badjelix]

thanks for the concern but it really is. I did a medical exam. Even did X ray on shoulder for some reason do make sure it is TE. It was an ultrasound scan that confirmed it

the x ray on the shoulder was to confirm that it was anything to do with the shoulder xD

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

Hi guys... this sad topic again... I started developing TE like a year ago. I was medically diagnosed with it. Starting using Powerball and making eccentric exercises (similar to Flexbar, but with weights). I was recovering nicely, but started playing again like after 1 month and all came back... forced a little bit thinking it would stop, but nah. Even changed my technique... Nothing... Since January 2021 I have been resting... As I said, I changed my technique to a more elbow friendly one, changed the gear! New racket (Head Gravity Pro) with some soft strings (don't remeber but they are Technifibre), with low tension... continued with Powerballs and Eccentric wxercises like 3 times a week... Came back on April 2021.. I had no pain. Started playing was super cool. First day was felt good, only felt the pain like on 2 super strong forehands (the pain only appears on forehands). Then, after 3 days I played again... But now I was feeling like before... the pain started appearing and it felt like I was just restarting everything from the beginning... terrible pain playing... as the day after I was already feelling better... tried again after 2 days... PAIN!
So... I think I did everything I could... am I doomed to have this forever? I am only 23 years old, I still want to play a lot of tennis... But I am not sure if it will be possible!!! I have no other injury like such in my body... even played basketball for some years and I never had an elbow/knee/ankle injury like this one on tennis (I played tennis from like 9 to 15 years old and basketball from 17 to 21, so you don't think that I am a guy with no tennis technique xD).
Maybe I restarted playing too soon? Or should restart easier? Like play only once a week or something... What do you guys think?
ps: sorry for the long post

Seems like you've done all of the obvious things. You said you changed your technique but what you're doing now might still be elbow-unfriendly. Posting a video might be helpful.

Assuming you have no degenerative or hereditary condition, my first guess would be that your technique is still putting too much strain on the forearm and elbow. This typically happens when someone tries to use the small muscles to hit over and over again [repetitive stress injury]. Take a look at how the pros hit, not because you want to hit as hard as them but because they use the big muscles and the arm sort of follows along in the wake.

Check out this series from Essential Tennis on TE/GE:

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

is really in the elbow. Kinda feels like it goes almost a bit to the tricep. Nothing on the grip. My new racket has a larger grip size too and really feels great, in that aspect

Your description is rather confusing. TE is commonly felt a little bit below the bend in the elbow -- perhaps a centimeter or two. Pain can sometimes be felt in the belly of the forearm and in the wrist area. TE compression bands are worn just below the bend; very close, if right at, the site of primary pain.

But not right in the elbow. And the triceps attach just above the back of the elbow joint. So that doesn't make sense either.

GE on the L, TE on the R​

 

[cha cha]

Rest is a mortal sin. I know people who have literally rested their careers away.
I am a volleyball player myself. That means repetitive blows right into the elbows (while blocking) on a daily basis for the past 25 years.
At this point, I don't really know what kind of elbow it is. Tennis, golfer's, who cares. It hurts.
The rule is simple. If you don't stop exercising the muscles around the elbow, you won't stop playing. Doesn't really matter what. Just make it high volume, low resistance exercise.
Doctors and medical grade rehabilitations are no good for you if you want to be active. These people only exist to prescribe rest and treat pensioners with severe movement impairments.

 

[cha cha]

Cool. Tell anyone with achilles tendinopathy that all they need to do to therapeutically load the tendon is walk

My uncle recovered from his in 4 months. I mean recovered into sports level kind of fitness. And he definitely wasn't sitting around waiting for it to go away.

 

[puppybutts]

lol rest is not the devil and neither is exercise. they are both tools...it would be crazy to think pro athletes with expert PT guidance are only ever resting or not resting injuries with no discrimination. you know your body best. if strengthening makes the pain worse, then you need more rest. if rest isn't improving your symptoms, try strengthening. it just takes some trial and error to figure out your arm. try working with a PT if you need help, try to find one who is experienced with younger athletes.

it sounds like you're just getting back into it too fast. you shouldn't be hitting "super strong" forehands or "forcing" on the first day back, even though it's tempting when you're finally pain-free. if you could squat 500 lbs then took many months off, you wouldn't start again right at 500 lbs. if you're new to running, trying to run a 5 minute mile or trying to run 10 miles at the beginning is an easy way to injure yourself. with tennis, even if your skill is still at a certain level, your body needs time to catch up. use mini tennis to get a gauge on your body before moving back to the baseline. slowly ramp up to more intense hitting - not just over hours, but over days and weeks.

at the end of the day, we here on the forum can only speculate. but don't just simply repeat what you tried and expect different results.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Rest is a mortal sin. I know people who have literally rested their careers away.
I am a volleyball player myself. That means repetitive blows right into the elbows (while blocking) on a daily basis for the past 25 years.
At this point, I don't really know what kind of elbow it is. Tennis, golfer's, who cares. It hurts.
The rule is simple. If you don't stop exercising the muscles around the elbow, you won't stop playing. Doesn't really matter what. Just make it high volume, low resistance exercise.
Doctors and medical grade rehabilitations are no good for you if you want to be active. These people only exist to prescribe rest and treat pensioners with severe movement impairments.

Interesting. No elbow problems from v'ball but plenty of sprained fingers. From front row blocking and rear court setting (6-2 formation). One dislocated pinky as well -- from blocking a hard hit spike that only caught one finger. Also left rotator problems from suboptimal spiking technique. Eventually switch to playing vball primarily right-handed in the early 90s. That allowed me to keep playing tennis and badminton left-handed.

 

[cha cha]

Interesting. No elbow problems from v'ball but plenty of sprained fingers. From front row blocking and rear court setting (6-2 formation). One dislocated pinky as well -- from blocking a hard hit spike that only caught one finger. Also left rotator problems from suboptimal spiking technique. Eventually switch to playing vball primarily right-handed in the early 90s. That allowed me to keep playing tennis and badminton left-handed.

Wow, that must have taken a lot of adjustment with the approach and timing. When we get a goofy footed kid, we just know it's gonna be hard work with them. Some of them we even let keep the goofy, because it is impossible to get out of them. I can't imagine properly switching arms as an adult.

As for the elbows, when I reach over blocking, my upper arms are at the net cord level. Anything that is hit into the net leaves either bruises on the tricepses or if I'm a bit early, it just kills the elbows with the impact of the ball combined with the steel net cord.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Wow, that must have taken a lot of adjustment with the approach and timing. When we get a goofy footed kid, we just know it's gonna be hard work with them. Some of them we even let keep the goofy, because it is impossible to get out of them. I can't imagine properly switching arms as an adult.

As for the elbows, when I reach over blocking, my upper arms are at the net cord level. Anything that is hit into the net leaves either bruises on the tricepses or if I'm a bit early, it just kills the elbows with the impact of the ball combined with the steel net cord.

Nah, it didn't take that much adjustment for the footwork. I'd already played baseball as a righty as a kid and naturally threw a ball right handed. At that point, I could play table tennis nearly equally well with either hand. Picked up a racquetball R-handed (initially) after I had already been playing tennis & badminton as a Lefty. A lot of lefties learn to do some things R-handed simply cuz we live in a R-handed world.

When I was taught a proper approach for vball spiking, it was demonstrated as a right-handed approach. So I learned the right handed approach & then just taught myself to reverse everything for a left-handed approach.

Even after I switched to predominantly righty, I would sometimes hit lefty even tho I would execute a right-handed approach. Sometimes, when a double block looked too good for my right-handed spike, I would just twist my torso the other way and hit with the left hand instead. The left-handed spike with a right-handed approach (zone 4) was the only time I could put a spike down in front of the opposing 3m line.

Even when I switch to hitting predominantly R handed, 60% of my serves (not jump serves) were still L handed. Setters would frequently ask if I wanted the ball set to my L hand. I told them just to put the ball up, and I would figure out which arm to use. For a '1' set they could easily see which hand I was using.

 

[cortado]

Odd seeing all this criticism of rest. The problem develops due to over-use. Anecdote I saw from ortho surgeon online: 'put the racquet in the cupboard for 12 months'.

 

[badjelix]

Your description is rather confusing. TE is commonly felt a little bit below the bend in the elbow -- perhaps a centimeter or two. Pain can sometimes be felt in the belly of the forearm and in the wrist area. TE compression bands are worn just below the bend; very close, if right at, the site of primary pain.

But not right in the elbow. And the triceps attach just above the back of the elbow joint. So that doesn't make sense either.

GE on the L, TE on the R​

yeahh. It really hurts in that "tennis elbow tenderness" spot. In the wrist sometimes too, but it kinda goes more to the tricep rather than the forearm yeah... but as I said, I did ultrasound to confirm TE..

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Odd seeing all this criticism of rest. The problem develops due to over-use. Anecdote I saw from ortho surgeon online: 'put the racquet in the cupboard for 12 months'.

There's been a a lot of rethinking of the old protocol & acronym RICE (or PRICE) for soft tissue injuries in the past 5-10 yrs. Even the guy who came up with RICE decades ago has changed his mind on some of this. Movement is often part of the newer protocols but you still hear some medical experts sticking to the old ways.

Is R.I.C.E Still Relevant for Soft Tissue Injuries? - Physiotherapy in Burnie & Somerset - Coastal Physiotherapy

Acute Management of Soft Tissue Injuries: Should We Still Be Resting, Icing, Compressing and Elevating? Daniel Reeves (Physiotherapist – Burnie) It is common that if you injure a muscle or ligament you should follow the acronym R.I.C.E (Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation). Over time the...

coastalphysiotherapy.com.au

MOVE an injury not RICE | This Changed My Practice (TCMP) by UBC CPD

MOVE an injury: Movement, not rest. Options: offer other options for cross training. Vary rehabilitation with strength, balance and agility drills. Ease back to activity early for emotional strength.

thischangedmypractice.com

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

yeahh. It really hurts in that "tennis elbow tenderness" spot. In the wrist sometimes too, but it kinda goes more to the tricep rather than the forearm yeah... but as I said, I did ultrasound to confirm TE..

Are you are aware that ultrasound can be used in the treatment of TE as well? I'll have to read more about it since I don't know if it's primarily for pain management or if it has actual therapeutic value.

Exercise and Therapeutic Ultrasound Compared with Corticosteroid Injection for Chronic Lateral Epicondylitis: A Randomized Controlled Trial - PubMed

Our results suggest that ultrasound therapy and exercise are beneficial in the treatment of tennis elbow.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

yeahh. It really hurts in that "tennis elbow tenderness" spot. In the wrist sometimes too, but it kinda goes more to the tricep rather than the forearm yeah... but as I said, I did ultrasound to confirm TE..

Have you tried any deep tissue massage? MFR, myofascial release is something you might consider. ART, active release therapy, is a variation of this. Perhaps @RogueFLIP will pop into this thread a provide his input on the efficacy of MFR for TE. You might try a Search in this forum to see if he is already done so.

The video below uses a lacrosse ball. If you don't have one right now, you might try a firm tennis ball and apply a little bit more pressure. Physical Therapists often have both types of balls for therapy.

 

[yossarian]

Are you are aware that ultrasound can be used in the treatment of TE as well? I'll have to read more about it since I don't know if it's primarily for pain management or if it has actual therapeutic value.

Exercise and Therapeutic Ultrasound Compared with Corticosteroid Injection for Chronic Lateral Epicondylitis: A Randomized Controlled Trial - PubMed

Our results suggest that ultrasound therapy and exercise are beneficial in the treatment of tennis elbow.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Pretty much ********

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Pretty much ********

For pain management?

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

@badjelix, Here's a reply from @RogueFLIP from last Oct on MFR for TE

https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...assage-for-tennis-elbow.680998/#post-14738017

 

[badjelix]

@badjelix, Here's a reply from @RogueFLIP from last Oct on MFR for TE

https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...assage-for-tennis-elbow.680998/#post-14738017

ty so much for all the valuable information

 

[badjelix]

@badjelix, Here's a reply from @RogueFLIP from last Oct on MFR for TE

https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...assage-for-tennis-elbow.680998/#post-14738017

this guy also talks about the tricep it is a tender spot for me too

 

[atatu]

Acupuncture worked for me, but I really think the main thing is getting blood flow into the inflamed area, which means heat (not ice) regularly. I also discovered "scraping" which I do often now.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Acupuncture worked for me, but I really think the main thing is getting blood flow into the inflamed area, which means heat (not ice) regularly. I also discovered "scraping" which I do often now.

I had very positive results eliminating intense & prolonged shoulder pain with acupuncture. They also did some of that vacuum cupping, which left some cool marks on my skin (that, sadly, went away after a few days). But it did not do anything for regaining shoulder (deltoid) function. It took a few months with PT & and chiropractor to regain function. (That included some neck traction since the problem appeared to arise from a nerve impingement at C5/C6).

Have done some "scraping" with my PT for thumb issues (arthritis and muscle pain). I believe you are talking about this sort a thing to promote (or control) blood flow in the area:

 

[Raul_SJ]

The rule is simple. If you don't stop exercising the muscles around the elbow, you won't stop playing

Tennis Elbow is very painful.
But that was more painful to read.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Just realized I could probably use my old mobile phone as a makeshift scraper at home. No doubt other items would work as well.

 

[cha cha]

Odd seeing all this criticism of rest. The problem develops due to over-use. Anecdote I saw from ortho surgeon online: 'put the racquet in the cupboard for 12 months'.

Tennis Elbow is very painful.
But that was more painful to read.

Second language, mate. : - )
And it is not a double negative.

 

[sjwoo]

The "scraping" looks something like the Graston Technique; that and ART (active release technique) both helped me when I had my bout of TE.

Rest and eccentric exercises are absolutely how you should heal this thing. And time, unfortunately. It took me six months to be rid of it, when I was afflicted with TE in my thirties -- it was over winter, so I took time off from November until April. But you must rest -- there's really no other way.

And something else to remember is that the eccentric exercises must be kept up, even after you heal completely. The point is to never have TE again, so keep your elbow strong. I use the blue Flexbar, plus also a hand grip exerciser, twice a week even though I haven't had TE in more than a decade. At the beginning, I couldn't believe how weak my right hand grip was, compared to my left -- TE had made my right hand so much weaker than my left.

Also, I don't know what your technique is now, but for me, the best way to hit a tennis ball is to grip the racquet loose and almost let go of the racquet at the point of impact (like you are throwing your racquet at the ball, in a controlled manner). Of course you can't always do this -- if you are volleying you have to have a firmer grip -- but if you have a set forehand or backhand, keep your grip loose and let the racquet do all the work. If you hit the ball in the vicinity of the sweet spot, it'll fly right.

 

[badjelix]

The "scraping" looks something like the Graston Technique; that and ART (active release technique) both helped me when I had my bout of TE.

Rest and eccentric exercises are absolutely how you should heal this thing. And time, unfortunately. It took me six months to be rid of it, when I was afflicted with TE in my thirties -- it was over winter, so I took time off from November until April. But you must rest -- there's really no other way.

And something else to remember is that the eccentric exercises must be kept up, even after you heal completely. The point is to never have TE again, so keep your elbow strong. I use the blue Flexbar, plus also a hand grip exerciser, twice a week even though I haven't had TE in more than a decade. At the beginning, I couldn't believe how weak my right hand grip was, compared to my left -- TE had made my right hand so much weaker than my left.

Also, I don't know what your technique is now, but for me, the best way to hit a tennis ball is to grip the racquet loose and almost let go of the racquet at the point of impact (like you are throwing your racquet at the ball, in a controlled manner). Of course you can't always do this -- if you are volleying you have to have a firmer grip -- but if you have a set forehand or backhand, keep your grip loose and let the racquet do all the work. If you hit the ball in the vicinity of the sweet spot, it'll fly right.

thanks!

 

[atatu]

The "scraping" looks something like the Graston Technique; that and ART (active release technique) both helped me when I had my bout of TE.

Rest and eccentric exercises are absolutely how you should heal this thing. And time, unfortunately. It took me six months to be rid of it, when I was afflicted with TE in my thirties -- it was over winter, so I took time off from November until April. But you must rest -- there's really no other way.

And something else to remember is that the eccentric exercises must be kept up, even after you heal completely. The point is to never have TE again, so keep your elbow strong. I use the blue Flexbar, plus also a hand grip exerciser, twice a week even though I haven't had TE in more than a decade. At the beginning, I couldn't believe how weak my right hand grip was, compared to my left -- TE had made my right hand so much weaker than my left.

Also, I don't know what your technique is now, but for me, the best way to hit a tennis ball is to grip the racquet loose and almost let go of the racquet at the point of impact (like you are throwing your racquet at the ball, in a controlled manner). Of course you can't always do this -- if you are volleying you have to have a firmer grip -- but if you have a set forehand or backhand, keep your grip loose and let the racquet do all the work. If you hit the ball in the vicinity of the sweet spot, it'll fly right.

Scraping is similar to Graston, it's also known as Gua Sha I believe. I use this heated liniment/oil stuff that my acupuncturist gave me and it feels great.

https://www.amazon.com/HONG-KONG-HUO-MEDICATED-50ML/dp/B002GA6OJS/ref=sxts_sxwds-bia-wc-rsf-lq2a1_0?cv_ct_cx=huo+lu+medicated+oil&dchild=1&keywords=huo+lu+medicated+oil&pd_rd_i=B002GA6OJS&pd_rd_r=cc3c5f7d-2e2f-448b-9f77-63351f959af7&pd_rd_w=FSh3L&pd_rd_wg=aEePE&pf_rd_p=4f59218c-4d77-47bf-89b5-777df2662425&pf_rd_r=034Y0RKEKN9DWDY5EP8K&psc=1&qid=1618425553&sr=1-1-49946e88-733b-44df-869b-c05699555c56

 

[cortado]

Scraping/Graston etc all snake-oil.

Regards keeping the elbow strong - that's how you get tennis elbow. Forearm muscles getting over-used, strong, tight, pulling on elbow tendons.
Just rest.

 

[yossarian]

Scraping/Graston etc all snake-oil.

Regards keeping the elbow strong - that's how you get tennis elbow. Forearm muscles getting over-used, strong, tight, pulling on elbow tendons.
Just rest.

Overuse is the inability to handle the load. In other words, weakness. Weakness underlies many different tendinopathies

 

[cortado]

Overuse is the inability to handle the load. In other words, weakness. Weakness underlies many different tendinopathies

But we aren't machines that can just be upgraded to handle greater and greater loads. Eventually we reach a point that our bodies can't take (and that point might be met sooner in ageing tissues). Look at weight-lifters - they get tennis elbow. They have good technique, they progressively increase the loads they lift, they don't encounter vibrations or 'shock' during lifting, but they still get tennis elbow.

 

[yossarian]

But we aren't machines that can just be upgraded to handle greater and greater loads. Eventually we reach a point that our bodies can't take (and that point might be met sooner in ageing tissues). Look at weight-lifters - they get tennis elbow. They have good technique, they progressively increase the loads they lift, they don't encounter vibrations or 'shock' during lifting, but they still get tennis elbow.

Still, the current most evidenced based treatment is to rest for a short period to abate the acute pain and follow up with an eccentric strengthening or heavy slow resistance training protocol. Not to solely rest for months on end

 

[Shroud]

So... I think I did everything I could... am I doomed to have this forever? I am only 23 years old, I still want to play a lot of tennis... But I am not sure if it will be possible!!! I have no other injury like such in my body... even played basketball for some years and I never had an elbow/knee/ankle injury like this one on tennis (I played tennis from like 9 to 15 years old and basketball from 17 to 21, so you don't think that I am a guy with no tennis technique xD).
Maybe I restarted playing too soon? Or should restart easier? Like play only once a week or something... What do you guys think?
ps: sorry for the long post

Maybe you did everything but since I didn't see it mentioned, here are some more things you could do.

1st off I had major TE and it was a blessing. I played through it. Sure, I might have stopped for a week or two but basically went to 15lbs of tension and played through. I found that ice was making it worse. Forearm muscles were super tight (but I couldn't feel that they were) and ice just made it worse. Heat really helped. I got a Bed Buddy that you microwave and its like rice or something in a thick sock. It would get the blood flowing and loosen up the muscles releiving tension on the tendon. The head also helped heal. Get a sleeve that keeps the arm warm and use while you play. Nike has them and you can see Kyrgios and Raonic use them.

ALong those lines get something like this that you can wrap around the elbow that has neoprene and will keep the elbow warm while allowing blood flow:

https://www.amazon.com/FEOAMO-Trimmers-Sleeves-Sweating-Circulation/dp/B07WWMT1CY/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=thigh+wraps&qid=1618444906&sr=8-8

Sleep with the elbow Wrapped.

Make sure you stretch and stretch and stretch the forearm. Before after tennis and throught the day.

Get a baseball and actively rub the sore parts and the whole forearm. This will help in healing. I bought a rolling pin and removed the handles so I could really rub the whole elbow and forearm at the same time. Do this before playing and before and after sleep.

Add weight to your racquet. This imho is one of the most important in terms of not getting TE again. Do 10g at 12pm and say 20g in the handle. Easy way to do the handle is to just put on 2 overgrips. I know you got a bigger handle than before, but try 2 over grips and make it even bigger. squeezing too hard is a big culprit.

Anyhow I beat it and at least from tennis, I will never get TE again.

 

[cortado]

Maybe you did everything but since I didn't see it mentioned, here are some more things you could do.

1st off I had major TE and it was a blessing. I played through it. Sure, I might have stopped for a week or two but basically went to 15lbs of tension and played through. I found that ice was making it worse. Forearm muscles were super tight (but I couldn't feel that they were) and ice just made it worse. Heat really helped. I got a Bed Buddy that you microwave and its like rice or something in a thick sock. It would get the blood flowing and loosen up the muscles releiving tension on the tendon. The head also helped heal. Get a sleeve that keeps the arm warm and use while you play. Nike has them and you can see Kyrgios and Raonic use them.

ALong those lines get something like this that you can wrap around the elbow that has neoprene and will keep the elbow warm while allowing blood flow:

https://www.amazon.com/FEOAMO-Trimmers-Sleeves-Sweating-Circulation/dp/B07WWMT1CY/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=thigh+wraps&qid=1618444906&sr=8-8

Sleep with the elbow Wrapped.

Make sure you stretch and stretch and stretch the forearm. Before after tennis and throught the day.

Get a baseball and actively rub the sore parts and the whole forearm. This will help in healing. I bought a rolling pin and removed the handles so I could really rub the whole elbow and forearm at the same time. Do this before playing and before and after sleep.

Add weight to your racquet. This imho is one of the most important in terms of not getting TE again. Do 10g at 12pm and say 20g in the handle. Easy way to do the handle is to just put on 2 overgrips. I know you got a bigger handle than before, but try 2 over grips and make it even bigger. squeezing too hard is a big culprit.

Anyhow I beat it and at least from tennis, I will never get TE again.

10g at 12!? That's 30 swingweight points?

 

[Shroud]

10g at 12!? That's 30 swingweight points?

Exactly. Nothing protects the elbow like sw points.