Preventing Tennis Elbow or Lateral Epicondylitis

You don't have to be a tennis player to get lateral epicondylitis, otherwise known as tennis elbow. In fact, it is estimated that only a small percentage (about 5%) of tennis elbow cases are caused by playing tennis. Working with heavy tools, weight training, other sports, and even repetitive keyboard work can cause tennis elbow.

When I was in high school, I played competitive tennis. Since tennis isn't a contact sport (except for the occasional tennis ball in the face when volleying at the net), I fortunately did not suffer too many injuries. However, I did get tennis elbow. And it was definitely not fun having to deal with the pain in my forearm every time I grabbed my tennis racquet. Since I was in my teens it didn't take too long to recover, but depending on the severity tennis elbow can take months to heal...and it can be a recurring injury.

When you have tennis elbow the best thing to do is to see a doctor or physical therapist who has experience with treating this type of injury. He might be able to recommend an anti-inflammatory drug that can help to ease the pain. The physical therapist will also most likely recommend some stretching exercises that will help with the flexibility in your forearm. This is important for both treatment and prevention of tennis elbow. Most importantly, your doctor or physical therapist should help you determine the cause of your tennis elbow. Once you figure out the cause, you may need to abstain from that activity for awhile or eliminate it altogether.

Now, for those of you who are in fact tennis players here are some tips to help you avoid tennis elbow.

Maintain the strength of your shoulder and arm muscles by generally staying fit. This means you should try to do general exercises or play a variety of sports...not just tennis all the time.

If you are a beginner, you may want to take a few lessons from a tennis professional. This is because poor form or technique can cause tennis elbow. Usually it's the backhand, but any consistently and poorly hit shot can, over time, cause tennis elbow. Experts tend to agree that it is more the twisting of the racquet in your arm that is the culprit rather than the vibrations, but vibrations don't help either.

You may want to think about using a mid-size racquet, which tends to have a bigger sweet spot than a smaller one. Mid-size racquets also usually absorb vibrations better than smaller racquets. You might think that an over-size racquet would be even better. However, if you hit the ball off center with an over-size racquet the risk of twisting is greater.

You can use an elbow brace. Be sure to use the type recommended by most health professionals called a counterforce brace. This type of brace is designed to guard against excessive tendon movement. Note that these braces are not the elastic type that are sold in most sporting-goods stores. The elastic material usually does not provide enough support to guard against tennis elbow.

When choosing a racquet, try using one that is flexible and designed to dampen shock or vibration. A larger grip size may help as well

You can also try lowering your string tension. This will also dampen shock. But you may need to practice a bit in order to get used to the lower tension. You can try lowering the string tension to a couple of pounds less than the lowest manufacturer suggestion.