Archive for year: 2023

Recently, I have a reoccurrence of the dreaded tennis elbow. What can I do about it?

Unfortunately, sooner or later, most of us have to suffer through the dreaded tennis elbow.  Between 10 and 50 percent of players suffer from tennis elbow so you’re not alone. And as most of us find out – rest doesn’t help.

Tennis elbow occurs when repetitive forces cause micro-trauma injuries to the tissues around the elbow.  Common initiating factors include: using a new racket, using nylon strings that are too tight, oversized grips, playing in the wind, hitting ‘heavy wet balls’.

In addition, if you suddenly increase your playing intensity and couple this with poor technique, especially the backhand and serve, you reduce your body’s ability to withstand these forces and develop tennis elbow. Striving for that little extra can really hurt you!

In a study by Kelley (1994, “sufferers showed poor body positioning and greater involvement of their forearm extensor muscles. They also showed rapid change from wrist flexion to wrist extension when striking the ball and early in the follow-through. This placed the wrist in an unstable position to withstand repeated forces. Importantly, the backhand stroke heightened these differences.”

If you are suffering from tennis elbow, you will have pain radiating down the lateral side of your elbow or stiffness in this area. Your symptoms may disappear if you stop playing, but this is obviously self-defeating. If you consult a doc, they’ll suggest anti-inflammatory drugs, injections, and RICE (rest, ice, compression and elevation) method. These, however, merely treat the symptoms and don’t address the underlying factors that caused the injury.

Another paper by Noteboom (1994) suggested 5 stages of treatment for tennis elbow: 1. Reduce pain, 2. Reduce inflammation, 3. Induce the healing process, 4. Maintain fitness, and 5. Control force placed on injured tissues.

Part of reducing the pain and inflammation is to get the inflamed tendons and muscles to ‘release’ (this is why some people have success with acupuncture). Typically the muscles and tendons are displaced away from your body causing your arm to be ‘bent’ and exacerbating the stress on the elbow point. You need to find the pressure (i.e pain) point, and gradually increase the pressure there until you feel the muscle release – sometimes takes a couple of minutes depending on how extreme your case!.

Repeat liberally and at the same time, start hot massage beginning at the wrist and gradually work your way up to the elbow to both release and stimulate blood flow to the muscles and tendons. Be patient, since there’s typically little blood flow to tendons which is why it takes time for the inflammation to go down. Gradually you’ll see your arm “unbend” as the muscles and tendons return to proper alignment.

In my own case, it takes about 10 days to get my elbow in reasonable shape if I’m diligent. Thereafter, after I’ve completed stages 1-3, I use a series of stretching exercises coupled with reducing the force in hitting the ball.  Racket stringing technology is developing all the time and I’ve found that one of Gamma’s strings, Live Wire, definitely eases the force on my arm.  While it might costs a few $$ more for a restring, even so, you’ll easily make up for this in frustration and injury reduction.

Candidly, putting the right strings in your racket is worth at least a point-a-game advantage in power, control, and injury prevention! If you can afford the technology, buy it!! Likewise, if you worried about your technique, spend a few $$$ on lessons.

Rob, USPTA Pro

This week’s inquiry comes from a club member participating in our club championships. During the heat of a match, my opponent unexpectedly erupted with incomprehensible outbursts, visibly losing their temper, and impulsively hurling their racket against the fence. This unsettling incident disrupted my concentration, leading to my subsequent loss of three consecutive points and ultimately the entire match. How should I effectively deal with such situations in the future?

When your adversary is unable to defeat you with their racket alone, it is crucial not to permit them to discover alternative means of gaining an advantage. Rather than succumbing to frustration due to your opponent’s unsportsmanlike behaviour, consider seizing the opportunity it presents.

Competitive tennis is all about matchups and your ability to discern your opponent’s psychological state. This not only allows you to draw energy from your opponent’s mental struggles and maintain your composure when trailing, but also enables you to adjust the game’s tempo to create a more favourable matchup during play.

In essence, when your opponent exhibits visible signs of distress, you should maintain a brisk pace to keep them off balance. Conversely, during pivotal moments or when they are gaining an advantage, you should slow down the tempo. So, how can you identify these tell-tale signs of your opponent being “visibly upset”?

You encountered a few distractions in your match, so here is a list of common indicators that your opponent is feeling pressure (remember, these may also apply to you):

1. Abuse: Engaging in abusive racket behaviour such as throwing or hitting it against the net.
2. Control: Making critical errors at crucial times, double faults, or trying to steer the ball instead of hitting it.
3. Mouthing: Negative self-talk, shouting, or using abusive language.
4. Negative: Refusing to accept errors or calls, and dwelling on mistakes.
5. Physical: Inability to relax, deliberately making bad calls, or rushing play.
6. Rushing: Exhibiting signs of agitation and hurrying the game.
7. Visual: Expressing dismay at errors, displaying negative body language, or making mocking gestures.

Many of these behaviours are childish and attention-seeking in nature, similar to behaviours not tolerated outside of tennis. Therefore, it’s essential to monitor your opponent’s conduct throughout a match to gain insights into their mental state and how they handle pressure.

Maintain your composure during crucial moments. Often, we internalize our focus, competing against ourselves. Avoid sending unintentional signals of frustration to your opponents, as this can boost their confidence. Players like Federer and Nadal excel at managing on-court distractions.

There is great value in staying composed, focusing on your own game, and minimizing distractions, whether they originate from your side of the court or your opponent’s.