Tennis elbow and racquet change

[cougarnation]

I am playing with a new Tecnifibre 320 VO2 Max, but I am experiencing just a lot of discomfort with TE. And I have added lead tape and lowered tension as people have suggested on this board, and the issue is better, but still there. Just wanted to see what people's opinion would be if I was to switch to a Volkl C10. This racquets seems to be the THE arm friendly version of racquets with similar playing characteristics.

:confused:

[TennezSport]

Tec racquets are pretty arm friendly as they are, but you do not mention what string and tension you are using. The other thing you may want to look into is your technique, especially on the backhand side. That is a major cause of TE if you are leading with the elbow during your stroke.

Cheers, TennezSport :cool:

[Stefano]

I agree with Tennez.

In any case, the Volkl C10 Pro is definitely very arm friendly so it could be an alternative to consider.

[Gerwalk]

I found the 320 to be fairly stiff as well. Plays great but I think the RA is 67 and I doubt I could play it for extended periods of time.

The C10 on the other hand is very soft, feels great and can really help put some spin on the ball.

[cougarnation]

I don't know whats with the TE, my friend who played juniors in the states, has TE when racquets are too flexible. I've just heard how flexible Volkls are, and C10 seems to have a pretty good track record for being elbow easy. I love my Tec, but like you Gerwalk, I don't think I can swing with this for long periods.

[benraschke]

I feel very qualified to speak about tennis elbow as I suffered from a serious and long bout with TE. I tried everything from Astym Therapy, Cortisone shots, Platelet/Plasma injections, to finally have surgery done. I rehabed for 4 1/2 months before I began playing again. The first 3 times I played my arm had a great deal of swelling and was very painful. I thought I was going to need to retire permanently from tennis. My Sports Surgeon and I decided to take a different approach and check out the equipment I was using. What we found was my racquets were definitely causing some of the problems. Here are 6 very important racquet specs a tennis elbow sufferer needs to be aware of.
1. racquet needs to be at least 5 points headlight.
2. racquet stiffness should be 63 or less on the RDC stiffness chart.
3. head size should be 100" or less, no oversize.
4. racquet length should be normal 27". no extended models.
5. racquet weight when strung should be 12 oz or higher.
6. overall swingweight should be 330 grams or higher.
I demoed 6 different models that fit this criteria, and I ended up recently purchasing (2) Volkl C10 Pro racquets. I have played 3 times with my new racquets, and the pain has begun to subside. It will take you a few times to get used to the extra weight, but once you do the racquet feels great.
One other very important spec to think about changing is the type of string you use. Polyesters are very hard on the arm. You need to think about either using a quality multifiliment like Tecnifibre X-One Biphase, or using a hybrid. Stay away from an entire string bed of polyester and synthetics.
I wish you the best of luck. I know how frustrating and painful tennis elbow can be.
Ben

[KendraB]

In my experience arm problems come from the frame 90 percent. Adding lead or using a shock absorbing string like cow gut or polyurethane multifilaments usually doesn't solve the problem. I have chronic tendonitis in my shoulder, so I have experience. A year ago my shoulder was so bad it would hurt every time I hit a serve. I switched to a Kennex 5g and 6 months later my shoulder was much better.

[Stefano]

I have never experienced TE, thank God.

But I had a problem with the rotator cuff of the shoulder. Unbelievable pain, I wasn't able to lift my arm up, and even when down the pain was really bad. I even had hard time laying in bed...just pain. I got rid of it just resting and taking anti-inflammatory medicines, most probably it wasn't at a point of no return yet.

So I feel for you guys who experienced TE, it is certainly not nice.

As far as I know, both Larry and Ben said it all.

An incorrect technique on the backhand side (one hand backhand) is usually the main cause of TE.

Then, the racquet stiffness, weight, swingweight, balance, head size, string, tension, grip size and so forth do the rest.

I would also add something else: warm up and stretch your arm before playing. That helps a lot. That's where my groin pain that was killing me last week came from.

What needs to be done is certainly try and prevent it. Going through what Ben had to deal with (surgery, Cortisone, you name it) is not a pleasant experience for sure :eek:

But hey, funny enough you can get TE working with a computer. Handling the mouse can cause TE. Even knitting causes it.

So if you use the PC all the time and play tennis (as I do. I don't knit, I guess you don't either :D), well...that's not good at all :)

[cougarnation]

thank you everyone for your input. I decided to demo 2 racquets. The C10 and the new APDC GT. The GT fits only 4 of the 6 criterias ben listed, but felt good. For me, this is a head heavy racquet, big swing weight, and maybe that's whats making it feel good, a lot of the impact doesnt seem to make it up the handle.

And I do work on computers for a living like you Stefano (glad I never picked up knitting :D).

[retox]

As a Physical Therapist and tennis player I've dealt a lot with tennis elbow. A few other strategies you could try are using a sports brace over your forearm. The main culprit in tennis elbow is the extensor carpi radialis brevis, one of the muscles that allows you to extend your wrist (while hitting a backhand). Applying pressure to this muscle restricts it's movement so the other muscles compensate. This distributes the load over a larger area, taking the pressure off that one little muscle. I use one all the time and I don't think I could play without it.
Also try an ice pack 1 - 2 times a day for 10 minutes, and especially after playing. This is more effective than popping anti-inflammatories and cheaper too.
I hope this helps.

[cougarnation]

I have completely switched over to the C10 Pro, and sold everything else. Loving it. String it with a hybird at 46/44 (Cyclone 17g/Gripper 17g). Will buy a strap also, but frame change and tension change have helped a lot, thank you for everyone's input.

[loudriver23]

I feel very qualified to speak about tennis elbow as I suffered from a serious and long bout with TE. I tried everything from Astym Therapy, Cortisone shots, Platelet/Plasma injections, to finally have surgery done. I rehabed for 4 1/2 months before I began playing again. The first 3 times I played my arm had a great deal of swelling and was very painful. I thought I was going to need to retire permanently from tennis. My Sports Surgeon and I decided to take a different approach and check out the equipment I was using. What we found was my racquets were definitely causing some of the problems. Here are 6 very important racquet specs a tennis elbow sufferer needs to be aware of.
1. racquet needs to be at least 5 points headlight.
2. racquet stiffness should be 63 or less on the RDC stiffness chart.
3. head size should be 100" or less, no oversize.
4. racquet length should be normal 27". no extended models.
5. racquet weight when strung should be 12 oz or higher.
6. overall swingweight should be 330 grams or higher.
I demoed 6 different models that fit this criteria, and I ended up recently purchasing (2) Volkl C10 Pro racquets. I have played 3 times with my new racquets, and the pain has begun to subside. It will take you a few times to get used to the extra weight, but once you do the racquet feels great.
One other very important spec to think about changing is the type of string you use. Polyesters are very hard on the arm. You need to think about either using a quality multifiliment like Tecnifibre X-One Biphase, or using a hybrid. Stay away from an entire string bed of polyester and synthetics.
I wish you the best of luck. I know how frustrating and painful tennis elbow can be.
Ben

Thanks for this post Ben!
This really was a great read, and confirmed many things I knew, and brought to light a few I didn't. I hope you don't mind me using your post to help explain TE to some of my clients.
Thanks,
Louis