Pickleball Elbow in Burlington

For pickleball players in Burlington, staying on the court is about more than fitness, it’s about maintaining the social connections and community that make sports like pickleball so rewarding. However, the very movements that make the game fast and fun such as; precision backhand dinks, and explosive overhead smashes, place immense mechanical stress on your lateral elbow tendons. 

The Strain of Constant Gripping 
Whether you are stabilizing your paddle for a volley or maintaining control during a long rally, your forearm muscles are in a state of constant contraction. These muscles attach to the bony bump on the outside of your elbow via the common extensor tendon. Repetitive gripping keeps this tendon under high tension, and without sufficient recovery time, the tissue can become worn down and irritable. 

The Precision of the Dink 
The dink requires significant wrist extension, flexion, and stabilization. Every time you lift your hand or twist your forearm to execute a precise shot, you engage the tendons on the outside of your elbow. Repeated hundreds of times per session, this motion can easily exceed your current load capacity, leading to the stubborn ache often called "pickleball elbow" or “Tennis Elbow”. 

The Impact of the Overhead Smash 
Explosive smashes create an intense load on tendon fibers. If the tendon hasn’t been progressively strengthened to handle these sudden forces, micro-tears can develop. Your pain is often a signal that the mechanical demands of the sport have outpaced your tendon's strength. 

Shifting the Narrative: Load vs. Inflammation 
Tennis elbow is generally a load capacity and strength issue, not just inflammation. Because traditional "rest and ice" rarely resolves the root cause, The Recovery Room focuses on specialized tennis elbow treatment in Burlington to increase your resilience through Shockwave Therapy and progressive strengthening. Our mission is to get you back to the game and the community you love. 

While we may not be able to change how the game is played, we can change or modify our paddle.  Specifically, there are 3 things that we can address to take as much strain off your forearm muscles as possible:

1. Paddle Weight: The heavier the paddle, the more strain is placed on the muscles of your hand, forearm and shoulder.  Opting to choose a lighter weight paddle will help decrease the amount of grip strength needed to control the paddle and decrease the strain on the muscles that cause tennis elbow. 
2. Grip Size: If your grip size is too small (which is more common), it causes you to use a tighter squeeze and excessive strength to maintain control of the paddle.  On the other hand, if the grip size is too big, you may find yourself gripping harder to compensate for not being able to wrap your fingers around the handle.  In either case, it causes over-gripping and increases strain at the elbow. 
3. Finger Positioning: Specifically hitting forehand shots.  Some people have a natural tendency to extend their index finger down the shaft and onto the back of the paddle.  The muscle that extends the finger starts and attaches all the way up on the outside of the elbow, and the constant strain from having it extended leads to pain and inflammation.  

Click here for more information on our specialized tennis elbow treatment in Burlington

Perform these 3 exercises before you play to help relieve your pain caused by tennis elbow: 

1. Paddle Assisted Isometrics: Perform 3x10 second holds 

• While holding your paddle with your elbow bent and palm face down, place the head of the paddle under something that won't move (i.e. a table)  
• Then you will try to extend your wrist and rotate your hand, so your palm is up, pressing up against the table. 
• Intensity of pressure should be about 25-50% of maximum, and should be pain free 

1. Banded Supination: Perform 10 Repetitions 

• Keep an exercise band in your bag, tie one end to something that will not move so that it is anchored away from your body. 
• With your elbow at 90 degrees, slowly rotate your palm downwards towards the ground and then upwards towards the sky. 

1. Wrist Flexion and Extension Mobility: Perform 10 Repetitions 

• With your arm straight out in front of you and palm downs towards the floor, use your opposite hand to pull your wrist into extension, and then down into flexion.   
• Hold for 1 second in each position. 
• The goal is to feel a moderate stretch in your forearm.