Did you know that up to 50% of tennis players may develop tennis elbow due to the repetitive overuse of the muscles in the elbow and wrist? According to the NHS this condition causes pain on the outside of the elbow, which may travel down the forearm when performing actions such as lifting, bending, gripping objects, or twisting the forearm. It's no surprise that many of these movements are essential to playing tennis!

The best approach to healing tennis elbow is to rest the affected arm. The actual damage is caused by tiny tears in the tendons near the bony lump on the outside of the elbow. The NHS states that tennis elbow typically lasts between 6 months and 2 years but normally fully heals within a year in 9 out of 10 cases. However, who wants to abstain from playing for such an extended period?

Yasmin discussed how to rest your arm in the September 2022 newsletter, but there are other ways we can try to reduce pain related to tennis racquets, and specifically the strings.

In case we haven't been acquainted, my name is Diccon du Pre and I have been playing tennis on and off for the past 20 years. I participate in league men's and mixed doubles having initially played in leagues for Newbury, Berkshire for 6 years then for the past couple of years I have been playing for Barton. I work in IT and have an engineering background, both of which has fuelled my curiosity about how things work including the equipment I use. Last year I decided to delve deeper into the world of stringing and purchased a stringing machine. I taught myself to string via numerous resources and practicing on my own racquets with different strings and tensions to understand the variances they create. Subsequently, I started stringing for some of my teammates and now offer my services to the rest of the club. So far, I have completed almost 50 racquets and whilst that obviously does not make me a professional stringer, I feel that I have a good understanding of the craft, while also recognising that there is still much for me to learn.

Now let's explore how the racquet and strings can affect tennis elbow. Firstly, the most significant impact stems from the shock and vibrations transmitted through your arm. While part of this can be attributed to technique (and I'm sure our coaches would be more than happy to help with that!) another factor is that the racquet and strings can be fine-tuned to reduce these vibrations. It's worth noting that reducing vibration often involves damping, which, in turn, diminishes the "feel" of your shots. However, it can hopefully alleviate pain and enable you to continue playing!

Racquet weight and stiffness play a role. Most modern racquets often prioritise power, being head-heavy and very stiff. This means you have to exert more muscular effort to manoeuvre the racquet, and the frame transfers most of the ball's impact to your arm. To mitigate this, you may want to consider using a racquet with a head-light frame (balance point nearer the handle) or one with a lower stiffness rating. Although not everyone wants to change racquet and therefore what else can be done?

The handle size can also contribute to tennis elbow. If the grip is too small, it can cause you to grip the racquet too tightly, placing excessive strain on your forearm muscles. To check if your grip size is correct hold your racquet and there should be a gap between the tips of your fingers and the heel of your hand — enough space to fit your other hand's index finger. If your handle is too small, don't fret; you can simply add an extra over grip or use a heat shrink handle enlarger underneath the grip. If it is too big then there isn’t much that can be done unfortunately.

Now let's delve into the fascinating debate surrounding strings. Numerous articles on the internet discuss how changing strings or tension can help alleviate tennis elbow, whilst they quite often contain contradicting information there are several points that are agreed. The wide variation in recommendations is due to the vast array of racquets, strings, and individual factors. Some of the commonly agreed items are:

Using a thinner string. This can help reduce the total contact between string bed and ball, although thinner strings are more prone to breaking.
Opting for a "soft" string, such as a flexible multifilament or newer soft polymer strings, is a common solution.
Slightly reducing the tension. This allows the strings to absorb more of the impact, preventing excessive transmission through the racquet. However, this adjustment may reduce the "feel" when hitting the ball.

Thus far, my focus has primarily been on experimenting with different string patterns and types. With input from others in the club who have provided feedback, we have found that using a hybrid stringing approach provides a good balance to the problem. This involves using synthetic gut in the main strings and a soft polyester string in the crosses, both strung at a slightly lower tension between 45-50 lbs (20-22 kgs) as opposed to the normal range of 50-55 lbs (22-25 kgs). So far, it seems to have been beneficial, but I'm always eager to discover more effective methods and not everyone experience with pain is the same.

In conclusion, no one should endure pain while playing tennis. If you experience continuous discomfort, it's crucial to take a break from the sport to ensure no permanent damage occurs. However, if you only experience some mild pain, there may be steps we can take to reduce or even eliminate it. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you would like further assistance with getting your strings replaced.

Diccon du Pre
07813 085029