Tennis
Tennis Elbow
Although tennis is a great way of keeping fit and active, there is one injury that savy players should be aware of; Tennis Elbow.
What is it?
Tennis Elbow (lateral epicondylitis) is an inflammation of the outer forearm and elbow where the tendons attach to the bone. These injuries are usually caused by repetitive movements and prolonged gripping in activities such as tennis. They can also be caused by hammering, weight lifting, driving screws, playing musical instruments and digging. In racquet sports, it most commonly occurs due to poor backhand technique.
What are the symptoms?
Typical symptoms include aching, throbbing or tenderness in the outer elbow that can be made worse by seemingly trivial movements such as typing, carrying bags, chopping food and even turning door knobs.
What should I do?
- Try a lighter racquet
- Increase the grip size to avoid tight grip
- Reduce string tension
- Reduce your activity levels by 50%
- Wear a compressive elbow strap
- Get some tennis lessons to improve your backhand
- Ice the outer elbow using a bag of frozen peas or ice pack wrapped in a tea towel. Do this for 10 minutes every hour.
