I have been playing Pickleball since the beginning of my life when I was a 5 year old young child. Whenever I was on court and when time was over I felt it was just the beginning and my mind said to play “Just one more game”. In doing so I always ended up playing a pickleball match for a long time and giving hard shots with extreme movements to save the score. Suddenly I observed that my elbow hurts with a striking pain. Soon, it got inflamed and painful so it can’t be touched. Have you also ever come across a situation like this? If yes, you must have heard of Tennis Elbow and might have treated it once or more often if you play pickleball regularly.

Injuries like ankle twisting, falling, scratches, and muscle spasms in pickleball are common. But, this injury is a tough one! I have got tennis elbow 3 times till now in my pickleball journey. I was 12 when I first got my tennis elbow while playing pickleball with my elder brother.  I served 30 to 35 hard shots within one match. My forearm was in severe pain after that match. Our family doctor Dr. Smith diagnosed that I had tennis elbow. It healed faster with proper treatment. In memory of that nostalgic injury, I have written this article for newcomers to share my experience and learn how to take care so that you don’t face suffering- ‘What causes a Tennis Elbow in Pickelaball’ and how to treat it.  

Ref URL : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmf9r3CAx1o

What Is a Tennis Elbow?

Tennis Elbow is also called Lateral epicondylitis. The muscles and tendons on the lateral or outside of the elbow get teared up and swell due to excessive strenuous arm movements while serving shots that result in a Tennis Elbow. 

Tennis elbow is commonly seen in picklers, Tennis players, workers who lift heavy objects, painters, cooks, gym professionals, etc. It is a general overuse injury that can be caused to anyone if proper care is not taken.

What Causes a Tennis Elbow In Pickleball?

 I have seen many people whenever they get introduced they start playing Pickleball and due to its addictive nature continue to play for longer duration. It is important to understand that if you have never played sports your muscles require some time to adapt to this new change. 

 So whenever people start playing intensly without having such activity the stiff muscles starts to tear and swell very easily compared to his/her friend who have been playing since long.

While serving the ball, a wrist extension movement is created in which you keep your palm downwards and move your hand upwards to the sky. The muscles involved in this process move from the back of the forearm to the outer side of the elbow. 

If you get a Tennis Elbow for the first time, you may see inflammation near extensor muscles. If you do not get proper treatment, the inflammation will stay there. But, it will also cause structural changes. They will get thick, and rigid, and work improperly with deadly pain. 

The following secondary factors cause Tennis Elbow in Pickleball: 

• Fastly turning paddles with backhand strokes,
• Repetitive strenuous shots.
• Playing hard shots
• Using power from your forearms instead of abdomen muscles, hip abductors, and thighs quadriceps.
•  without warming up before the game.
• Weak forearm muscles and tendons
• Improper body and hand posture to serve the ball
• Heavy shaking and flipping of hands while serving.

Symptoms of a Tennis Elbow:

If you get tennis elbow for the first time while playing pickleball, you may or may not recognize it immediately. You will feel that it’s a muscle spasm. But, you can identify its right symptoms with a proper diagnosis from a physician. I have enlisted the symptoms of tennis elbow for your reference below: 

• You will feel pain running from the outside of your elbow into your wrist and forearm.
• Soreness of joint area of wrist and forearms.
• You may feel difficulty in shaking hands, turning door knobs, serving ball with a paddle, and picking up books, bags, etc., 

How To Treat Tennis Elbow?

Tennis Elbow is a physical injury, in which you need medicinal treatment and physiotherapy to recover faster. I  have enlisted the most common treatments for Tennis Elbow below for your help: 

• First Aid Treatment:

1. RICE:

RICE stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. Ice is compressed on the injured area for 20 to 30 minutes every 2  to 3 hrs to reduce the pain. Doctors suggest resting properly without complex hand movements for at least 2-3 days to recover from Tennis Elbow.

• Medical Treatment:

1. Physicians prescribe Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) like Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Naprosyn, etc. to reduce painful swelling and soreness in the injured area. You may feel dizzy after taking these medicines. So, it is advised to rest properly until the treatment is complete.

2. Bracing:Doctors also use Lateral epicondyle bracing with tapes to make the injured muscles stable in one place. It reduces the pain while moving and adds proper support to the forearm.

3. Surgery:It is supposed that the pain and swelling in the tennis elbow will vanish with basic medical treatment. However, some obsessive picklers may continue to play instead of resting properly. It accelerates this condition and that person faces extreme swelling and unbearable pain. Surgical operation is done in these severe cases after 6 to 12 months of initial treatments.

4. Injections:Sometimes surgery or basic NSAID treatment may not heal the elbow. In such cases, injectables containing steroids, platelet-rich plasma, blood coagulates, etc. are introduced into the blood circulatory system of the patient for intravenous treatment.

• Mental imagery or mental rehearsal:

Many picklers opt for this method in which they visualize rapid recovery and healing in their mind. They set their daily routine, sit in a relaxed posture at a fixed spot, close their eyes, disconnect from their surroundings for a while, and visualize positive things related to their health and game. This method can help you prevent future injury too.

 When I got a Tennis Elbow last time, I used this technique. I used to visualize that my body posture had regained its peak, I had amazing and fit health, and my injury had healed completely.  Miraculously, my injury healed sooner than the last few times with regular visualization, together with physiotherapy and medicines.

• Physiotherapy: 

Regular hand stretching exercises, electric muscle stimulation of forearm muscles, acupuncture, cold laser treatment, etc. can help to strengthen the injured muscles and tendons and help to alleviate pain in Tennis elbow. 

How To Prevent Tennis Elbow?

 They always say, ‘Prevention is better than cure.’ Taking preventive measures to avoid injuries and accidents in pickleball is good for your health and gameplay. These are some basic tips that you can follow to prevent Tennis Elbow in pickleball:

• Warm Up Before Each Game:

Warming up your muscles in the game allows more flexibility. You can do clockwise and anti-clockwise rolls of arms, wrists, palms, fingers, and elbows. You can do a march around the court with small steps. Doing all these exercises boosts blood ciruclation in body muscles to reduce rigidity and stiffness.

• Select Right Paddle Grip:

The grip of your paddle must not be so much thick or narrow. Use an optimum-sized (11.5 in) paddle grip with a lightweight feel to avoid stress on forearm muscles, especially in ard shots.

• Stretch Your Body After Game:

Your body creates and uses energy when you constantly run, jump, focus, hop, and walk during the game. The muscles also get into that momentum. You should stretch your arms, shoulders, wrists, ankles, legs, and knees after the game to relax muscles and release tension between joints if formed.

• Do Proper Backhand Stroke:

One of the main reasons behind Tennis Elbow is improper backhand serves. The hand muscles get twisted, sore, and stiff for harsh backhand strokes. Use both hands to hold the paddle and do the backhand serve instead of one hand. It avoids the pressure on a single hand’s extensor muscles and divides the force for that powerful backhand serve.

• Muscle Strengthening Exercises:

Your hand and wrist movements are drastically lowered in Tennis Elbow. With aching pain and soreness, the player might need a long recovery. But, if you follow regular strengthening exercises for hands and wrists, you can avoid tennis elbow. 

1. Hand muscle strengthening:  You need to take a sponge ball in your fist and open and close the fist with your palm and fingers. It strengthens the grip and power of hand muscles.
2. Wrist muscle training: Take a dumbbell and move your wrist up and down 10 times. You can do a set of 2 or 3 for each hand. Do not overdo this exercise to avoid wrist twisting.

Conclusion:

Playing pickleball is fun. But, taking care of yourself from injuries is more important than its enjoyment. Tennis Elbow is possible to cure easily with an ideal recovery period. It is also necessary to take preventive measures to avoid this stressful injury. I hope this article on ‘What Causes Tennis Elbow in Pickleaball?’ has given you useful insights on its treatments, causes, prevention tips, etc. In my two cents I say, stay fit, warm up regularly, strengthen your core, eat healthy, practice pickleball in your free time (especially backhand serves), and enjoy the tennis elbow-free game!

featured image ref. url : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn3E7YAzCYw