Can You Keep Playing Tennis When You Have Tennis Elbow?

OR Is It Important To Stop Playing?

Is it absolutely necessary to stop playing tennis or golf when you have Tennis Elbow – Or is it sometimes okay to “play through it” – IF you’re conscientious?

And if it turns out you DO need to take time off from the court or course to focus on healing, when is it safe to start playing again?

These are two questions I’m very often asked by tennis players and golfers, and I do my best to answer them and offer suggestions in this podcast: (As well as the article linked below.)

Isn’t It Plainly Obvious You Should Rest To Heal Your Injury!?

Many authorities will tell you that you must rest your injury “so it can heal” leading you to believe this is a predetermined decision…

At which point it becomes a question of “How long do I need to rest and wait?”

But this often stems from a misunderstanding about the nature of the injury – It’s not a given!

Please see my article and video on: How Important Is Rest In Healing Tennis Elbow?

It goes into detail explaining why “absolute rest” is probably not the answer for most Tennis Elbow sufferers.

In brief, there’s no guarantee healing will happen in a tendon (or ligament) when it’s given complete rest from all activity – even for months on end.

As a general rule, it’s usually a good idea to stop the activity that caused your injury for a while – or at least reduce the time you spend doing it.

But, although it may be the smartest thing to do – the good news is it isn’t always necessary!

It is possible to recover from milder (and even sometimes moderate) Golfer’s Elbow and Tennis Elbow injuries while continuing to play.

Obviously, there’s still the question of where to draw the line when it comes to severity, which leads us to our first guideline:

The good news is, although it may be wisest to take time off, it is possible to keep playing and still recover – IF your injury is not severe, AND you do the right things to treat it.

Like everything related to this vexing injury, the answer is nuanced and I’ve broken it down into 5 key guidelines if you want to continue playing:

1. Don’t play if you have a severe injury – or when it’s really flared up,
   
   
2. Choose your priority: Continuing to play or having a faster recovery,
   
   
3. STOP playing if it starts hurting significantly,
   
   
4. Modulate your playing: Play less hard, play alternate days, ect.
   
   
5. Treat your muscles and tendons properly – If you do the right things to treat it OFF the court/course, you can get away with more time ON it!

Here’s the full article on my Tennis Elbow Classroom site:

Article on playing tennis with Lateral Epicondylitis

On a related note, please also see this video about:

Exercises To Skip When You Have Tennis Elbow.

(The upper-body strength-training exercises you should consider avoiding, stopping or modifying.)

If you’re just starting to notice some discomfort in your elbow during or after playing tennis (or golf)

here are the warning signs to watch out for.

Treatment in Marin / San Francisco

If you’re in the Bay Area, please see my page about how I treat Tennis Elbow:

Tennis Elbow therapy at Body In Balance in Corte Madera

You get 100% hands-on Neuromuscular Therapy to help your muscles and tendons heal and recover naturally without dangerous drugs or invasive measures.