Wrist pain...due to racquet weight or its stiffness?

gamerx52986

gamerx52986

Rookie
Just a question regarding my recent wrist pain and racquets I play with. I've been playing with the Youtek Radical all season and recently bought a Youtek Speed MP to try out. Played two matches with the Speed and while I won both very easily I've had pains in my wrist afterwards. I've played 4 matches with the Radical so far this season with no problems at all. Both frames are strung with Tecnifibre Multifeel 17g which isn't a harsh string. I've played with over 12oz frames before and even those with a flex rating of near 70. I've noticed that any frame with a flex rating of near 70 just causes me shoulder pains. That's the main reason I went to the Radicals. So I'm curious if the Speeds 65 flex is too much for me or just the overall weight of the frame. In the past I've tended to tire out in 3 set matches when I used the heavier frames (old age creeping in).
 
Hey gamerx!

I'm 44 and was very concerned with the Speed MP 18x20's stiffness. It's certainly a lot stiffer than my PSLGT. And I didn't use it stock or have a chance to demo with a multi. Instead right out of the shipping container I made the following mods:

- removed the original grip and replaced with the SUPER comfortable Wilson Shock Shield grip

- Increased the weight to about 12oz and changed the balance to 10 pts HL with lead under the grip and a little at 6 on the hoop

- strung with VS Team and CoFocus 18 for a very soft string bed

No problems so far after about five sets worth of games and lots of serve practice.
 
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Normally there are two main reasons for wrist pain: 1. Raq stiffness 2. Raq weight. But since according to your words the weight is not an issue to you, I am tempted to say that the Speed is too stiff for ya. Sincerely, I was considering it as an option before. It seemed a lot like an attractive stick but there was one issue for me - the stiffness. With my elbow I could not take the risk. I believe it is the same case here, strictly IMHO
 
it is difficult to pinpoint the absolute cause. it can be caused by a combination of factors such as the higher static weight and stiffness, lower twistweight of the speed, and even the tendency for a wristier stroke because you're still trying to work the timing down. if you are really shining with the speed my best advice would be to start slow and ramp up your game gradually once your wrist feels better.
 
Timothy...I know from other threads that you also more recently bought the Speed. I read what you've done to your Speed but I think that if I did that the frame would be out of my comfort zone weight wise. I'm just trying to figure out if maybe the Speed just isn't for me. Granted I've played great with it in the two matches I've used it but I was playing great before just without the pain afterwards. I may demo a Dunlop Bio 300tour to see if I can handle its flex since its a lighter frame than the Speed. I appreciate the heavier ball I can hit with the Speed compared to my Radical but am not enjoying the wrist pain. Maybe the Liquid Metal Radical would be to my liking with its flex. I think my ideal spec is a just over 11oz frame 18x20 with a flex under 65.
 
This doesn't sound like your case, but wrist pain can also come from a racquet that's too headlight for a given swing. The racquet head lags behind too much on forehands and serves, and the player must compensate by applying too much force from the wrist. Over time this can cause an overuse injury.
 
might be worth a try to get the balance matched a little closer to his radical and see how it works out. have you had a chance to give the wilson blades a go? they seem like they would be a good match.
 
tennisexecutor said:
might be worth a try to get the balance matched a little closer to his radical and see how it works out. have you had a chance to give the wilson blades a go? they seem like they would be a good match.
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I'm actually looking at the specs of the Blx and Kblade right now Other than the 67 flex I'm liking the specs of the k version better .
 
you're in luck then. being that it's a wilson, you get to choose from a gamut of specs and should have no problem finding a bblade in tw's kblade specs. good luck and let us know how things work out.
 
If it starts affecting your grip and thumb be careful. Just something to watch for in the future.

For now avoid leather grips and make sure your technique is good and you are not wristing the ball too much.

Definitely ICE after every session and use ibuprofen as well to keep the tendons from getting inflamed.
 
Power Player said:
If it starts affecting your grip and thumb be careful. Just something to watch for in the future.

For now avoid leather grips and make sure your technique is good and you are not wristing the ball too much.

Definitely ICE after every session and use ibuprofen as well to keep the tendons from getting inflamed.
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Thanks for the heads up. Would you think its my technique then causing the issue and not the frame? Only asking because I play exactly the same as when I use my Radicals except I have no pain afterwards. I've actually played longer matches with my Rare and had no issues. I've played 2 matches with the Speed dropping only 3 games total and had pain after each match.
 
When I had some wrist issues, it was the stiffness of the racquet that caused me pain which I quickly remedy by going with stiffness index of lower than 65.
 
Not sure to be honest. What I did to make sure it was not the racquet was switch to the Pro Kennex 7G. Not only is it one of the best sticks I have used, it also protects my wrist better than any other racquet and gives me some peace of mind to swing away out there. PK makes a ton of sticks so you can find multiple ones that may suit your game.

That is an option if the current racquet is bugging you. I like the heavier ball so I went with the 7G.

Which Radical is it? they have good flex so you just need to find a flexible racquet that packs some punch to it. Volkl has new sticks coming out as soon as well that may be an option.
 
ICe your wrist and rest for a week. You should be good to play.
Regarding the cause, I clearly suspect the grip difference between radicals and speed. What is the grip size? If speed was smaller or bigger then that should be the cause.
I always get wrist injury when I try new racquets. I use Nike wrist support while trying new racquets.
 
When I had wrist pain I think it was due to the combination of a stiff (70 RA) racquet and kevlar mains strung at mid tension.

Now that I play with poly strung at 50 pounds I never had any pain again.
 
Power Player said:
Not sure to be honest. What I did to make sure it was not the racquet was switch to the Pro Kennex 7G. Not only is it one of the best sticks I have used, it also protects my wrist better than any other racquet and gives me some peace of mind to swing away out there. PK makes a ton of sticks so you can find multiple ones that may suit your game.

That is an option if the current racquet is bugging you. I like the heavier ball so I went with the 7G.

Which Radical is it? they have good flex so you just need to find a flexible racquet that packs some punch to it. Volkl has new sticks coming out as soon as well that may be an option.
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PP...first off thanks for the input thus far. My Radicals are the Youtek which are a 59 flex rating.
 
Sreeram said:
ICe your wrist and rest for a week. You should be good to play.
Regarding the cause, I clearly suspect the grip difference between radicals and speed. What is the grip size? If speed was smaller or bigger then that should be the cause.
I always get wrist injury when I try new racquets. I use Nike wrist support while trying new racquets.
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Grip size on both frames is 4 3/8. Strings are identical Tecnifibre Multifeel 17g.
 
The Speed is excellent IMO but very stiff; it wouldn't hurt to change to another soft multi and string it at low tensions. I learnt that some so-called "soft" strings may not be that soft after all. :(
 
Oh God. I thought wrist pain comes from stiffness and vibration so I changed to Organix 10. X10 (295) has almost no vibration among I demoed racquets. But I still have wrist pain after 2- 3 hour practice. But my pain goes away when I rest 2 - 3 days so I ignored until now. I praised X10 so much because it has no vibration. Do I need a different racquet?
 
My organix 10 was strung with prince multi ( inside with 3 cores bundled together multi) with tension 54 main and 48 cross. I tried real soft multi too but that setup also gave me wrist pain.
 
tennis-kid said:
My organix 10 was strung with prince multi ( inside with 3 cores bundled together multi) with tension 54 main and 48 cross. I tried real soft multi too but that setup also gave me wrist pain.
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Pro Kennex Ionic rackets or Prince Exo Tour with gut or soft multi like MCS.

If that does not do it, rest or some fault in technique has to be corrected.
 
Boricua said:
Pro Kennex Ionic rackets or Prince Exo Tour with gut or soft multi like MCS.

If that does not do it, rest or some fault in technique has to be corrected.
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Thank you for input. I thought I found the racquet I needed for my wrist when I purchased X10 (295). But when I heave read this thread I realized it might be from the racquet. I demoed Prince EXO tour side by side with X 10 295. Prince EXO was very close to X10 but I felt a little more vibration in Prince.
I have to reconsider purchasing second X10. Now I am planing to demo Pro Kennex and Microgel radical. Is Head microgel radical worth to demo?
Is there any other great racquets to prevent wrist pain?
 
tennis-kid said:
Thank you for input. I thought I found the racquet I needed for my wrist when I purchased X10 (295). But when I heave read this thread I realized it might be from the racquet. I demoed Prince EXO tour side by side with X 10 295. Prince EXO was very close to X10 but I felt a little more vibration in Prince.
I have to reconsider purchasing second X10. Now I am planing to demo Pro Kennex and Microgel radical. Is Head microgel radical worth to demo?
Is there any other great racquets to prevent wrist pain?
Click to expand...

The Pro Kennex 7G has greatly assisted me with my wrist pain.
 
gamerx52986 said:
Grip size on both frames is 4 3/8. Strings are identical Tecnifibre Multifeel 17g.
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Even if they are of same size, you will still get wrist pain. I always get wrist pain when I switch to a new racquet. It is somthing to do with the grip shape.
Instead of changing the racquets just buy Nike wrist support for 10 bucks in Sports auth, it should fix your wrist in a week.
 
Thank you so much guys.
I will demo Pro Kennex 7G, 5G and Redondo.
And I will buy shock shild for my X10 and nike wrist support.
I will post the result after all these changes.
 
I actually got one of my Speeds restrung at a lower tension and hit this morning with no pain afterwards. So either the lower tension helped or the fact that I took a few days off from playing. Still going to invest in a wrist support just in case.
 
tennis-kid said:
Does 7G comes with mid size? There was only mid plus in TW racquet selection.
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7G doesn't come in a mid size. It's basically made to be a forgiving players stick! :)

If you're interested, try out the Redondo mid. I'm toying with one right now and it's such an odd frame. It's got a total love/hate thing going on right now.

On the one hand; Super low flex, awesome for comfort and control. Actually a lot of spin as well.

On the other; Super low flex. Generally low powered, great for everything but serving. It doesn't matter what I'm doing, even on some of my best serving days so far, the Redondo just isn't up to par with my Prestige Mid or my PSC6.1.

It's an oddball frame, that is for sure! I might end up keeping it around for doubles, because of it's awesome touch for volleys, but it just isn't up to par for singles where you really need to start catching and handcuffing people!

-Fuji
 
This comes up often here. Racquet stiffness is not an absolute measurement i.e. 2 frames could have the same stiffness, yet one could actually be much stiffer than the other. Stiffness is measured at one point, typically near the throat. However this does not account for a super stiff hoop or varying stiffness across the hoop. Material layup can dramatically alter stiffness such that a single point measurement is an approximation at best.

A prime example of this was the Dunlop MaxPly McEnroe. It was only rated at a 68 stiffness, but the frame played like a stiff, unyielding board. Many members here had to abandon it due to arm and elbow pain, even though they had never experienced it before. Remembering that McEnroe strung his racquets super-soft (in the 40s I believe), the majority opinion was the hoop was so stiff it played way stiffer than the frame was rated. McEnroe probably didn't notice or preferred it that way.

I was one of those members who loved the MaxPly McEnroe but had to give it up due to this issue. So the Speed hoop may be way stiffer than you are use too, which just magnifies the effect of ball impact.

-k-
 
tennis-kid said:
Thank you so much guys.
I will demo Pro Kennex 7G, 5G and Redondo.
And I will buy shock shild for my X10 and nike wrist support.
I will post the result after all these changes.
Click to expand...

Prokennex 7G is awesome. It has a little awkardness due to 1/2" longer grip.
 
tennis-kid said:
Prokennex 7G is awesome. It has a little awkardness due to 1/2" longer grip.
Click to expand...

Yeah, you will get used to it, and love it on your serve.

I would suggest just giving yourself a little more space to the side of the ball then normal. Took me about a week and then it was an automatic adjustment.
 
I think there's something to consider here aside from the spec's of the different racquet... it's a different racquet.

Playing for points in a match is a significantly different setting compared with hitting on the practice courts. In a match, you have to primarily focus on your opponent and the management of each point. Shots are executed much more unconsciously in competition compared with hitting on the practice courts where the majority of our focus can shift to our own technique. In a match, we can only use the tools we've already made for ourselves.

If you took a new and unfamiliar frame out to the courts to play a match, you only had your timing and muscle memory from your old racquet to work with in the heat of battle. That means that you likely had to unconsciously steer the racquet to the ball more often and that usually makes for a more active than usual wrist.

Get a session or two on the practice courts with the Speed and see how you feel after that.
 
Fuzz Nation....excellent advice for my situation which is what I did. I went directly into competitive matches with the Speed with very little practice time on the frame. I've now sold the Speeds however as even after putting in practice time ,I would feel pain each outing. Went back to my radicals for the remainder of my season and played with no pain afterwards. I'm going to take the off season and try some frames which I've done already and then get plenty of practice time in before the new season begins.
 
The stiffness is the main problem.

gamerx52986 said:
Just a question regarding my recent wrist pain and racquets I play with. I've been playing with the Youtek Radical all season and recently bought a Youtek Speed MP to try out. Played two matches with the Speed and while I won both very easily I've had pains in my wrist afterwards. I've played 4 matches with the Radical so far this season with no problems at all. Both frames are strung with Tecnifibre Multifeel 17g which isn't a harsh string. I've played with over 12oz frames before and even those with a flex rating of near 70. I've noticed that any frame with a flex rating of near 70 just causes me shoulder pains. That's the main reason I went to the Radicals. So I'm curious if the Speeds 65 flex is too much for me or just the overall weight of the frame. In the past I've tended to tire out in 3 set matches when I used the heavier frames (old age creeping in).
Click to expand...

I am on the same boat with you. You've been playing with the Radical long enough that your shoulder, your arm, and your wrist got used to it, and you suddenly switched to a stiffer frame, your tennis playing parts won't be able to take that stiffer from the new racquet. I used to play with Utek Rad. MP for long time, and when i switched to BLX Blade 98 (I used Luxilon Power main at 54 lbs and Wilson NXT 16 cross at 57 lbs) i got the same problem as yours. When i used the BLX Blade 98, wirst pain and elbow pain came from hitting baseline, shoulder pain came from serves. I had to put down the Blade and went back to Utek Rad, the pain went away very quickly. I tried again the BLX Blade with Luxilon Power Rough main at 49 lbs and Wilson NXT 16 cross at 52 lbs, no more pain in the wrist or elbow but the shoulder pain was still there after a few serves. I went back to Utek Radical and all were gone. I tried again after a few days with the BLX Blade 98 and it happened exactly the same as before. Then i tried the Dunlop Biomimetic 500 Tour, i had shoulder pain but no wrist no elbow pain. I had to go back with the Utek Rad. After a few experiment with stiffer frames, i realized that i got so used to flex racquets and i could never play with the stiffer racquets. I really loved the BLX Blade 98 but no way i want to get near it. I hope you understand your pain from my little experiments.
 
gamerx52986 said:
Just a question regarding my recent wrist pain and racquets I play with. I've been playing with the Youtek Radical all season and recently bought a Youtek Speed MP to try out. Played two matches with the Speed and while I won both very easily I've had pains in my wrist afterwards. I've played 4 matches with the Radical so far this season with no problems at all. Both frames are strung with Tecnifibre Multifeel 17g which isn't a harsh string. I've played with over 12oz frames before and even those with a flex rating of near 70. I've noticed that any frame with a flex rating of near 70 just causes me shoulder pains. That's the main reason I went to the Radicals. So I'm curious if the Speeds 65 flex is too much for me or just the overall weight of the frame. In the past I've tended to tire out in 3 set matches when I used the heavier frames (old age creeping in).
Click to expand...

It's mostly your technique/timing, then I'd say it's the equipment/strings/balls IMO. Hitting late with a stiff frame strung with dead strings and playing with dead balls = arm troubles.
 
AlpineCadet said:
It's mostly your technique/timing, then I'd say it's the equipment/strings/balls IMO. Hitting late with a stiff frame strung with dead strings and playing with dead balls = arm troubles.
Click to expand...

I would have agreed on it being my technique if I hadn't played great with the Speed. I actually only dropped 2 games in the matches I actually used it in. My timing was fine as I had zero misfits with the Speed. I just had wrist issues both times afterwards. Then everytime I practiced with it the same thing pain afterwards. There's a ton of frames out there...I just admitting the Speed MP didn't work for my game. While I've been demoing some other frames, I'm back to using the Radicals for league play and thus far pain free all season.
 
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