Focus: what to do against sore arm padel ?

Sore arm ? At the elbow? Your August Zoom by Régis Monnerie from PadelXP discusses this subject which concerns many players of padel.

Where does this recurring evil come from among racket sports practitioners? What to do to get rid of it?

The causes of arm pain

Pain in the arm, and particularly in the elbow (epicondylitis or ''tennis-elbow''), are very common among racket sports enthusiasts. As you can imagine, the padel no exception.

This evil corresponds to an inflammation of the tendons of the elbow which results in pain felt in the forearm and up to the wrist, making any movement of the arm with flexion of the elbow difficult.

The causes of this trauma can be multiple. We find :

lack of warm-up or inadequate warm-up
too high frequency of play causing overwork
wrong move(s)
unsuitable material
insufficient musculature

epicondylitis-arm-pain-padel | Padel Magazine

Solutions for arm pain

Before considering replacing the equipment used, it is therefore important to ask yourself the question of the warm-up practiced before playing, a good warm-up allowing the muscles to be prepared for the effort and to increase the elasticity of the tendons to make muscles more resistant to effort.

Exercises to strengthen the muscles of the arm make it possible to stabilize the joints, in particular certain exercises with rubber bands that a physiotherapist or a sports coach can advise you on. These exercises can be done as a warm-up.

Longer-term endurance work can have a preventive effect on arm pain, helping to prevent muscle fatigue and injury. This work can be applied to the arm but also to the shoulder.

It is also wise to ask yourself if you have not increased the frequency of your games too much. padel, hence overexertion causing pain in the arm.

A decrease in the frequency of play, or even a period of total rest, is likely to reduce or eliminate the pain. The goal is to adapt your sporting rhythm to your muscles and joints in order to protect them as much as possible. A gradual increase in pace will always be preferable to avoid pain and injury.

Regarding the actions of padel, they can cause pain and injury if done incorrectly. The solution is to take lessons with a coach of padel who will be able to correct your bad gestures and adapt your movements to avoid trauma.

Finally, if the evil persists and becomes serious, to the point of not being able to play any more, you must then consult a doctor so that he directs you to a sports physiotherapist. He will offer you proven healing solutions: shock waves, mesotherapy, acupuncture, mesopuncture, etc. The goal is then to prevent the evil from settling permanently and to obtain a definitive cure.

Choosing the right equipment

The player's enemy padel, it is the vibrations transmitted to the arm during strikes that cause elbow pain, or other pain in the arm or shoulder.

If you are feeling these pains, or if you are coming back from an injury and want to protect your arm and joints, there are snowshoes padel adapted to protect your arm, thanks to integrated anti-vibration devices.

First think about the shape of the pala, and its weight. Indeed, if your arm is bothering you, go first to round palates, which will have the weight distributed more towards the handle than towards the head. Likewise, the lighter your pala, the less force it will require from the forearm muscles.

There are also very effective anti-vibration devices to put on your racquet that can eliminate a good part of the vibrations of ball impacts.

Rackets with integrated anti-vibration systems

Many racquet manufacturers offer models of racquets composed of one or more anti-vibration systems. These are primarily rackets with a soft rubber core, as we will see. It can also be anti-vibrators integrated in the head, systems incorporated in the heart of the racquet, or in the handle.

picture | Padel Magazine — Thepadelxpcomracketsracket padel nox tempo wpt 2022html>Nox Tempo WPT with its soft rubber and AVS anti-vibrators

The main feature of snowshoes padel anti-vibration is the rubber (or foam) used in the racquet core. The more it is flexible (or soft), the more it will absorb vibrations and protect your arm. The denser (or harder) it is, the more you will be prone to muscle and joint fatigue, and arm, elbow or shoulder pain.

The most flexible foam is the rubber FOAM which has been widely used on snowshoes. padel because it has flexibility properties allowing the ball to give the impression of sinking into the racket by offering a spring effect. But its low durability, due in particular to the heat which softens the rubber of the rackets, has led the manufacturers of rackets to abandon it more and more in favor of Eva rubber, which is now very common, because it is more solid and durable. It is found in various densities: very soft density (Eva Soft or Ultrasoft), moderately dense (Eva Black or Eva Pro), dense (Eva Mid) or even hard (Eva Hard).

The most common soft rubber in use today is Eva Soft, a low density, high elasticity rubber. It can be found on both beginners' racquets and high-end racquets with more advanced Eva Soft rubbers such as StarVie's Eva Soft V30 (present on the top-of-the-range model, the Metheora Warrior) or the Eva Soft Performance by Adidas, present on the Metalbone range.

Do you have pain in your arm or elbow, or even in your shoulder? Orient yourself as a priority, at least temporarily (while waiting to get better) towards a racket with a soft rubber core that absorbs vibrations and protects your arm from fatigue and pain.

External anti-vibration systems

If you already have a racket and want to equip it with an anti-vibration system to protect your arm, you can choose one of the existing accessories to add to your racket.

These can be anti-vibrators to be installed in the holes of the head, or anti-vibration grips or overgrips to be placed on the handle of your racket.

Dampers

Dampers are small cylinders that you insert into the holes in your racquet's head (into 11 and 13mm holes, which will fit the vast majority of tennis racquets). padel). Thanks to their absorbent material, they considerably reduce the vibrations generated by ball impacts. Up to 60% less vibration!

You can distribute them as you wish, either in the center of the sieve, or at the top of the sieve if you want more power, or at the bottom of the sieve for more control.

Anti-vibration grips and overgrips

The anti-vibration grips and overgrips are to be placed on the handle of your racket. They absorb and eliminate the vibrations generated by ball impacts, to protect your arm and your joints.

A grip generally arises in place of the original grip, if it is possible to remove it (which must be checked). It acts by suppressing a maximum of vibrations. It is advisable to put an overgrip over this grip.

The Undergrips are also a very effective solution, which can eliminate up to 92% of vibrations!

Anti-vibration type overgrips Hesacore, come to rest in place of the grip of your racquet. These overgrips, which represent a real innovation, increase the grip between the shaft and your hand, offering better contact and more feeling, while eliminating vibrations from ball impacts. They bring you better comfort with a good grip of your racquet in addition to anti-vibration protection.

Hesacore Grip Padel | Padel Magazine — Hesacore marketed by Bullpadel

So there are anti-vibration systems that allow you to play padel while protecting your arm, whether in prevention or after an injury. Do not hesitate to choose a racket equipped with an anti-vibration system, or to equip yours with accessories to play padel without arm pain.

Dietetics, one more solution for your pain

We now know that certain dietary supplements are very useful in preventing tendinopathies from degenerating.

Among them we find the silicon, chondroitin, glucosamine, collagen… Do not hesitate to take a look at our file on the most useful dietary supplements for padel.

Finally, don't forget to drink enough water before, during and after sports. Indeed, good irrigation of muscles and tendons will certainly reduce the risk of injury and inflammation.

Regis Monnerie

Régis Monnerie is the founder of the French site Padel XP. Drawing on his experience, he comes back to the questions you have about snowshoes. padel.