How to Manage an Overuse Injury: Tennis Elbow
Sports Overuse Injury:Tennis Elbow
Back in December, I played tennis outside in Long Island.The temperature was 49 degrees.I returned one of my daughter’s ferocious serves and wow my elbow hurt.We played the next day again and it hurt worse.My 12 year old daughter and I had a weekend rivalry;it was always a close game.Everything was fine until it got cold.Why did my elbow hurt? Because she is a FIERCE player and in order to compete with her I have to grip hard to serve hard, return hard, volley hard and lunge for shots that put me in positions that compromise the arm/elbow/wrist/grip mechanism… leading to TENNIS ELBOW!!Besides all the gripping and smashing, the repetition of 2 matches within 24 hours was a major pain contributor.The cold contributed too as I had to grip harder because my fingers felt numb! This onset of elbow pain had all the indicators of trouble:2 sessions close together, changing playing style in the cold and playing through the pain. How did I make it through the gam…
Back in December, I played tennis outside in Long Island.The temperature was 49 degrees.I returned one of my daughter’s ferocious serves and wow my elbow hurt.We played the next day again and it hurt worse.My 12 year old daughter and I had a weekend rivalry;it was always a close game.Everything was fine until it got cold.Why did my elbow hurt? Because she is a FIERCE player and in order to compete with her I have to grip hard to serve hard, return hard, volley hard and lunge for shots that put me in positions that compromise the arm/elbow/wrist/grip mechanism… leading to TENNIS ELBOW!!Besides all the gripping and smashing, the repetition of 2 matches within 24 hours was a major pain contributor.The cold contributed too as I had to grip harder because my fingers felt numb! This onset of elbow pain had all the indicators of trouble:2 sessions close together, changing playing style in the cold and playing through the pain. How did I make it through the gam…