Guide to alleviating and curing tennis elbow

​Shingo shares what he's learned about tennis elbow here, having had some trouble with it over the last year or so. He hasn't let it stop him!

Have you ever suffered from tennis elbow?

If so, you know how debilitating it can be. Generally accepted good advice is to stop playing tennis for a while, massage the elbow, and exercise to strengthen the affected area. However, people often don’t know what to do or what can be done to accelerate the healing process. Below is a list of generally recommended things you can do to alleviate or cure the symptom.
  
10 recommended things to do

(1) Heating (bath) and cooling (ice) the elbow (especially in the initial stage)
(2) Resting (at least 2 to 3 weeks)
(3) Massage

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_70oOs9dkwE&t=4s
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXAzcjxIHMg

(4) Exercises

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMyhss4dsxM (resistance bands)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz11unl7y9E
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUEHnsY-PuQ&ab_channel=PrecisionMovement
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNFa7TnfbXw&ab_channel=OscarSanchez
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sS4dzm8zMk (flex bar etc.)

(5) Change grip sizes

• Slightly larger grip size than usual. Then you don’t have to grip the racquet so tightly.

(6) Change strings

• Softer polyester or nylon multifilament string (if you can afford it, maybe natural gut)
• A thinner gauge may also be beneficial.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGB33RXHDIM
• https://www.tennis-warehouse.com/improve/video.html?ccode=IPSTVAFTS

(7) Change stringing tension

• Lower tension (preferably lower than 50lb)

(8) Change racquets

• Softer arm-friendly racquets such as Wilson Clash
• https://www.tenniswarehouse.com/learning_center/gear_guides/tennis_racquets/best_comfort_racquets.html
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3u3Ng4twOo (Save your arm by Tennisnerd)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x95IBdDJzII

(9) Change how to grip the racquet

• Grip which allows more open-face hitting

(10) Change how to swing the racquet

• Swinging techniques which lower stress on your elbow
• Hitting the ball early
• Rotate your shoulder, not your elbow (lock your forearm)
• Don’t force your swing. Hit the ball in a way that comes naturally to you (don’t think too much about how to hit the ball, and don’t try to hit like Nadal or Federer)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYIEhWwW0Ec
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7rgFneyKBo
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAH6kUuKvKQ

 
This YouTube link is useful for general advice on how tennis players can stay healthy:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x95IBdDJzII (Stay healthy by Tennisnerd)  

Here are some tools you can use:
​
Flex bar

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we4UoiKG3Co

Resistance bands  

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMyhss4dsxM

Muscle roller bar

•  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we4UoiKG3Co

​Massage gun

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw64KTeF8Yw

TENS machine  

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEfiJL-JS_4&t=402s&ab_channel=AskDoctorJo

My personal experience

Initially, after I felt the onset of tennis elbow, I stopped playing tennis, and started massaging and stretching the elbow (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_70oOs9dkwE&t=4s) while taking a bath (to warm the elbow) and icing the elbow with an ice pack on a daily basis. I did these things for nearly 6 weeks. Although the pain was alleviated, these actions didn’t completely cure my tennis elbow. Thus, I did a bit of research and started doing other things including: (1) exercises such as push-ups, (2) other strengthening exercises using a flex bar and resistance bands (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMyhss4dsxM), and (3) massaging the muscles around the elbow using a massage gun and a TENS machine. Now, I can feel that I am getting somewhere with these exercises and massage tools. Although I cannot quantify the effects of all these measures, I feel that the flex bar and the TENS machine are particularly effective and useful to heal tennis elbow in my case.
 
In parallel, I am thinking about changing my racket setup. First, I will lower the tension of the string I am currently using for my racket, and if that doesn’t work, I will start searching for a softer string, such as a nylon multifilament string, suited to my taste (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3u3Ng4twOo from Tennisnerd).
 
Hopefully, all these efforts will eventually result in curing my tennis elbow for good. Any other tips or advice for curing tennis elbow from your personal experiences are always welcome. Thank you for taking your time to read my article!