You can say what you want about Rafa’s absence in the finals of the French,  as far as I am concerned Roger is the greatest player of all time.

Tennis elbow

As we get older, flexability decreases and injuries such as tennis elbow increase.  Most of the same tennis elbow exercises for treating tennis elbow will work for preventing tennis elbow as well. If you are a beginner, learning the proper technique can prevent many injuries associated with tennis.

Stretching for tennis elbow and other injuries is invaluable but finding the time can be difficult.

Tennis elbow exercises are beneficial to both cure tennis elbow and prevent tennis elbow.

Tennis Elbow Exercises

The wrist extension exercise is the one I have personally found to help me the most to cure tennis elbow. Everyone’s situation is unique so this exercise for tennis elbow will not always work.  It would be best to check out the experts to determine the best tennis elbow exercise routine.

It is essential to begin tennis elbow treatment as soon as you realize that your elbow pain is a symptom of tennis elbow.

The best possible treatment involves stopping the activity that caused your tennis elbow in the first place. Unfortunately this is seldom a realistic scenario. League tennis players don’t want to let the team down by dropping out and people whose occupations led to tennis elbow can’t afford to just give up those jobs. So for most of us, we continue the activity and apply treatments the best we can.


One of the best treatments for tennis elbow if you must continue the activity is a strap or brace around the forearm. If a tennis elbow brace is used before the elbow pain becomes too great, it can slow the progression of or even stabilize the condition. Although a tennis elbow brace can be a lifesaver, it is not the only treatment for tennis elbow pain.

I don’t like taking pills and don’t think presciption medication is called for except for severe tennis elbow. Ibuprofen as a general pain reliever and naproxen sodium as a pain reliever and anti-inflammatory are the most I would recommend for treating tennis elbow pain.

Other treatments for tennis elbow include cold and hot treatments.  Although swelling from tennis elbow is generally minor,  ice packs are the best immediately following the activity. Tennis elbow is predominantly a tendon issue and because tendons receive less blood flow than muscles, the application of heat is beneficial to increase the blood flow to the tendons. In order for the tendons to heal, blood flow is crucial.

Alternative tennis elbow treatments include massage therapy, acupuncture, ultrasound and laser treatments.

Tennis Elbow	Golfers Elbow	Bursitis

If you have pain on the outside of the forearm near the elbow which may radiate into the forearm and wrist then you may have tennis elbow. This forearm pain normally begins gradually and goes away after resting. If you continue the activity that brought tennis elbow on , the pain will likely increase and will persist longer and longer. If not treated, tennis elbow pain can be nearly constant and make normal activities such as shaking hands, turning a doorknob, drinking a cup of coffee or using a screwdriver very painful.

Pain in the forearm at the inside of the elbow could be a condition known as Golfers Elbow, while Bursitis is characterized by pain at the back of the elbow. X-rays may be used to rule out other causes of forearm or elbow pain but cannot diagnosis  Tennis Elbow itself. Utrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans can show tendon damage but are expensive and rarely needed to diagnose Tennis Elbow.

If you have determined through self-diagnosis that you have tennis elbow, you should still see a doctor to confirm the diagnosis and rule out a more serious condition.

• Gardening
• Swimming
• Fencing
• Knitting
• Carpentry
• Golfing
• Bricklaying
• Using scissors or shears
• Racquetball
• Squash

The list of causes of tennis elbow goes on, but can be broken down into the categories of occupational or recreational. Regardless of the activity causing tennis elbow symptoms, the root cause of tennis elbow pain is damage to the tendons that attach muscles of the forearm to the elbow. Tennis elbow will normally occur in a person’s dominant arm but is possible in either or both. Increasing age is a factor in a person’s susceptability to getting tennis elbow as tendons lose their elasticity as we get older. Tennis elbow is generally not considered a repetitive motion injury, but an injury due to overuse.  Changing occupations, picking up a new sport and starting a new hobby all can lead to a case of tennis elbow.

Specific to tennis there are a number of factors that can lead to or aggravate tennis elbow pain.

• Technique:  Keeping your arm straight and stiff on backhands, using “all arm” on serves, maintaining a “death” grip on the racquet are examples of technique issues that can cause tennis elbow pain.
• Equipment: Too large a grip size is #1, followed by a racquet that is too stiff. Kevlar strings may not cause tennis elbow and they last forever, but they will increase the severity of forearm pain. Proper grip size and a good racquet/string combination go a long way in avoiding tennis elbow.
• Schedule: Laying off all winter then joining multiple leagues or playing several tournaments back to back are good ways to end up with tennis elbow. If you never played tennis before or haven’t played for awhile it is best to take it slow.
• Training: Playing tennis as the only form of physical activity can lead to tennis elbow from the overuse aspect. No matter if you are a weekend player, a league player or a tournament player, strength training and cross-training can be very beneficial.
• Warm-up/Stretching: Not stretching and warming up can contribute to tennis elbow as well as other injuries. As we get older, stretching and warming up become increasingly important in preventing injuries.

You do not have to have bad technique or be a couch potato to develop tennis elbow, but eliminating as many causes as possible may be your ticket to Cure Tennis Elbow Now.