Pickleball: Ouch, my elbow hurts! Solutions to tennis elbow

One of the many overused injuries in sports is commonly called “tennis elbow” or “golf elbow”.  Tennis elbow expresses itself with intense pain on the inside of your elbow joint.  Golf elbow is when you have pain on the outside of your elbow.  Both are intensely painful, hard to get rid of and easy to avoid in the first place.  I have attached many videos to this article so you can get the advice and suggestions from physical therapists, sports medicine experts and doctors.

I have had both conditions throughout my tennis and pickleball journeys.  At one point a few years ago, I had to wear a shoulder harness to keep me from extending my arm away from my body.  This is not healthy or normal, so calm down and pace yourself.

Here are the specific causes

• Overuse – too many hours or too many days of performing the same repetitive movement.

• Gripping too hard on your paddle and repeatedly contacting balls away from your body on the backhand side.  Sometimes, this is also true on the forehand side.

• Poor footwork which leads to stress on the shoulder, elbow and wrist joints.  It is a little plastic ball.  You need to use your hips and shoulders, and not just your arm.

• Little to no conditioning of the muscles and joints outside of pickleball.  No stretching, no icing, no light weights, no ball squeezing, no work with a flexible bar, no pulleys.

• Dependence on a Velcro brace to solve the problem without limiting play, time on the court or days on the court.

• Believing that the jacuzzi will cure it or a heating pad.  This feels good but does nothing to solve the problem.  Inflammation is alleviated by icing, while heat brings swelling to the area.

Solutions

• Ice, Ice Baby!  Icing or incorporating “RICE” which is rest, ice, compression and elevation.  This is critical for managing this injury.

• Ice cups!  Get some Dixie cups, fill them with water and put in the freezer.  Tear away the top and use ice massage on the tender areas for 15-20 minutes at a time.

• Stretching!  Watch the videos to see specific moves.

• Rest! Take a day or two off.  Find some alternative activities to add to your pickleball addiction.  Walking, Pilates, yoga, swimming, aqua aerobics, biking, hiking, golf and horseback riding are all good options.  Pickleball is a game, not a fitness workout.  Take care of your body and do some cross-training.  It will improve your footwork, balance, coordination and confidence as well as help you prevent injury.

• Specific exercises to strengthen your muscles and joints

Be sure to watch the videos to see these exercises.  It takes time, but if you do them regularly, you will see improvement.

1. Ball squeezes

2. Stretchy band exercises

3. Light weight repetition exercises

4. Flexible bar exercises

Lastly, I added a two-handed backhand to my toolkit, and this takes so much pressure off your elbow and shoulder. Yes, you need better footwork to get closer to the ball, but you save your elbow and shoulder.

Enjoy the attached videos and go get some Dixie cups for icing.

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Coach Mary's tip of the week: Six mistakes all players must correct

Mistake No. 1: Moving back when you are executing a third shot drops: This shot is tough if you are on your back foot and falling back.  Instead, get back first, then get your weight and your hips into the ball.  Short backswing, use your hips and core, and push rather than swing.  Your momentum should be forward.

Mistake No. 2: Watching your shot and not being ready to respond to the return:  Paddle up, footwork, prepare before the ball gets to you.  Don’t waste time admiring your shot.

Mistake No 3: Attacking too many shots that are not attackable: They are too low or out of your reach.  Be patient and wait for an attackable ball.  75% of points are won on an unforced error.  Stay in the point until they miss.

Mistake No. 4: Changing your grip: Do not do this.  Keep the same grip (shake hands) You do not have time to change grips in pickleball.

Mistake No. 5: Give yourself a margin of error: Unforced errors into the net or out of bounds or deep.  Give yourself a margin – do not aim for the sideline, but for 4-6 inches inside the sideline.  Get the ball over the net, but not into the net or so high they can attack you.  Remember, if the ball goes into the net, your opponent does not have to make any decisions.

Mistake No. 6: "What is the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing repeatedly but expecting a different result.": If you are consistently hitting the ball out, or missing serves, or hitting dinks into the net, make some changes.  Improve your footwork and preparation before the ball gets to you.  Shorten your backswing.  Exaggerate your follow-through.  Aim a few inches inside the line so you do not hit the ball out.

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This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Pickleball: Ouch, my elbow hurts! Solutions to tennis elbow