What is epicondylitis?
Lateral epicondylitis in Padel is also called "Padel elbow" . It is a degeneration injury to the tendons on the outside of the elbow.
Although it has this popular name, it is not common to find this injury in experienced players who practice it regularly. It is more common to find it in beginners of this type of sport, or when there has been some type of modification of the technique, or when there is a previous overload of another origin in the arm.
Sometimes the cause is not caused by physical exercise. For example, after a day cleaning, cooking or using a screwdriver.
Symptoms
The pain is located at the tip of the finger on the head of the radius bone, at the level of the elbow. Added to epicondylitis is the inability or limitation to carry a weight at a certain height . For example, discomfort when pouring water from a heavy jug. Also pain during elbow stretching. It usually appears at the beginning of the physical activity, in the warm-up, and after the practice the pain reappears, and can persist for hours or days.
It is very important to have an ultrasound to diagnose this lesion. In our clinic we have ruled out cases of epicondylitis in a few minutes, or we have treated the lesion exactly thanks to being able to see it on a screen.
Although its name may mislead us, epicondylitis in Padel is not an inflammation in itself, so anti-inflammatories do not usually make it disappear. In medical terms, there is a degeneration in the tendon, a thickening of said tendon and, sometimes, the creation of blood vessels, which generates that pain to mechanical tension. This tension is caused by a continuous overload of the elbow muscles . Another solution that medicine proposes are infiltrations and, in the worst case, surgical operation. But we, the physiotherapists, insist that a more conservative treatment and muscle re-education gives better results and in a not very long time.
The cases of amateur Padel players who come to the clinic are usually because they have stopped physical exercise for a season and start training and playing without proper progression. Sometimes, the epicondyle can hurt in both forehand and backhand shots , since they are muscles that are involved in both shots, although with much more involvement in the backhand
Treatment of epicondylitis in Padel
The first phase of treatment should be to lower muscle overload , treat trigger points that are generated in the arm muscles. These trigger points are areas in the muscle fibers that generate referred pain in another area, which translates as tension in the tendon. Stretching and cryotherapy can also help, but always accompanied by specific exercises for each patient.
For example, after many patients, we have experienced a more evident improvement when we re-educate sports gestures and propose forearm strength exercises than when we send only passive stretching.
In a second phase of treatment we usually apply invasive techniques such as Percutaneous Electrolysis with very positive results in a few sessions. The technique is minimally invasive, and consists of causing a rupture of the injured tissue so that it generates new fibers, and in the process, generates analgesia. In this phase we begin to develop specific isometric recovery exercises.
In the third phase, we continue using invasive techniques, we implement the eccentric and concentric exercise, and we increase the load ofPadel training and matches .
Another piece of advice is to reduce, but not completely stop physical activity, since it has been proven that the tendon needs a certain load to recover. We also recommend the temporary use of the straps that press the forearm to distribute the tension suffered by the tendon.
How to avoid epicondylitis in Padel?
The best prevention is an adequate progression when training or playing Padel , as well as a good previous physical preparation. Especially after more or less long periods of less activity. You cannot go from 0 to 100 after spending months or years without playing, since the tendons need to adapt, and they are relatively slow, especially in impact sports such as Padel.
With our ranking player Bea González we follow a weekly treatment to prevent overloads. At Padel ProShop we recommend visiting a sports physiotherapist to check for small discomforts and not letting them go further can mean anticipating the injury
