Tips to Manage Elbow Pain While Playing Tennis

Your elbow joint is made up of three bones: the humerus (upper arm bone), the radius, and the ulna (forearm bones). Muscles, ligaments, and tendons support these bones, providing your elbow with flexibility and stability needed for proper movement. 

A common condition known as tennis elbow can develop when the tendons that connect your bones and muscles in your forearm become irritated and inflamed from overuse. While you don’t have to play tennis to get tennis elbow, about half of all tennis players develop the condition due to extensive forearm use in the sport. 

At the Valley Orthopedic Institute located in Palmdale and Ridgecrest, California, our team led by orthopedic and pain management experts Anand Shah, MD, Mehul Taylor, MD, and Adam Amir, DO, have years of experience diagnosing and treating tennis elbow and the pain that comes with it. 

We explore how tennis elbow develops and how to manage it while you continue to play the sport in this month’s blog. 

How does tennis lead to tennis elbow?

The tendon inflammation (tendonitis) in your forearm that comes with tennis elbow develops most commonly from the repeated force of hitting a tennis ball in the backhand position. When you use your backhand stroke, the tendons in your forearm roll over your elbow joint, putting you at risk for subsequent damage to both the tendons and muscles in your forearm. 

Your risk for tennis elbow increases if you have weak wrists, use an incorrect backhand stroke, hit tennis balls off center, or use racquets that are strung too tightly. If you develop tennis elbow, you may start to notice aching in your forearm. As the condition worsens, the pain can spread to your wrist and cause difficulties picking up or grasping any object.

Treating tennis elbow

If tendon pain is keeping you from playing tennis comfortably, we recommend starting with the following conservative treatment to encourage optimal healing:

• Take a short break from tennis to allow proper rest for your elbow
• Ice your elbow a few times a day for 15 minutes
• Apply a compression bandage to your elbow and wear a brace
• Elevate your elbow above your heart whenever you can
• Take anti-inflammatory over-the-counter pain medications such as ibuprofen

Other treatments we offer at the Valley Orthopedic Institute that may help with the healing process include physical therapy, corticosteroid injections, and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy.

It’s important to understand that rest is incredibly important for inflamed tendons. Getting back into tennis too quickly could injure the tendon more and require surgery down the road. 

To learn more about how to effectively treat tennis elbow, schedule a consultation with our team by calling your nearest office location or using our online booking feature today.