I Have Elbow Pain and Playing Tennis Makes My Elbow Throb

Elbow pain that throbs while you play tennis can build as repeated gripping and swinging puts stress on the tendons around your elbow.

When your elbow starts throbbing during tennis, you may notice the pain becoming more obvious with repeated swings, firm racket grips, or shots that require extra effort. The tendons connecting your forearm muscles to your elbow can become painful when they are repeatedly stressed, especially when you are playing often or increasing your tennis activity.

The throbbing may also become easier to trigger when your forearm starts getting tired. As the area becomes irritated, normal tennis movements can become harder to tolerate comfortably, so the pain that was mild early in the session may become much more noticeable later.

Repeated Swings Put More Stress On Your Elbow

Your elbow has to handle repeated gripping and swinging every time you play.

The muscles in your forearm repeatedly tighten to control the racket, while their tendons connect into the elbow. When you keep repeating those movements, the tendons can become strained and painful, making your elbow start to throb during forehands, backhands, serves, or other repeated swings.

The Throbbing Builds As Your Arm Gets Tired

Fatigue can make the pulsing elbow pain more noticeable later in your tennis session.

You may start playing with only a small amount of discomfort and then notice the throbbing becoming stronger after repeated swings. As your forearm tires, continuing to grip and control the racket can make an already painful elbow harder to tolerate, especially during a longer session.

Why Your Elbow Keeps Throbbing During Tennis

Your elbow has a hard time healing when blood flow and circulation are limited.

Tendons, ligaments, and other soft tissues naturally receive less blood supply than many other parts of the body. Because of this, they often take longer to heal after repeated stress or injury, leaving you more vulnerable to lingering pain and a cycle of reinjury.

When circulation through the area remains limited, injured tissues have a harder time receiving the vital oxygen and nutrients they need to repair and heal. This can leave your elbow feeling stiff, tight, weak, or painful during everyday movement and activity.

What Can Help Your Elbow Feel Better

Your elbow starts feeling better when blood flow and circulation improve.

Chinese herbs have been used for centuries to promote healthy blood flow and circulation. Their medicinal properties help break up stagnant blood and fluids that remain trapped around injured tissues, interfering with circulation. As circulation improves, blood flows more freely through the area, allowing those tissues to receive the oxygen and nutrients they need to heal properly.

Topical herbal remedies made with these Chinese herbs can help relieve pain while improving blood flow and circulation to injured tissues. The right product depends on your symptoms and whether you're in the acute or chronic stage of recovery.

If you have pain, swelling, inflammation, or bruising, Acute Sinew Liniment helps relieve these symptoms by increasing circulation and dispersing stagnant blood and fluids around the injured area to speed recovery. During the acute stage of healing, getting circulation moving early allows injured tissues to receive the fresh blood, oxygen, and nutrients they need to repair and heal.

If your injured area is especially swollen, red, or warm to the touch after a recent injury or flare-up, Sinew Herbal Ice is also used to reduce swelling and inflammation while restoring normal circulation so you can quickly regain range of motion. While traditional ice is commonly used to reduce swelling, Sinew Herbal Ice acts as an ice alternative to reduce swelling and inflammation while also dispersing accumulated blood and fluids to speed the healing process.

If you no longer have swelling or inflammation, but still have pain, stiffness, weakness, or sensitivity in cold and damp weather, Chronic Sinew Liniment helps relieve these symptoms by strongly stimulating circulation and increasing blood supply to injured tendons and ligaments to promote their healing. This is especially important because tendons and ligaments naturally receive less blood supply, which is why chronic injuries can take longer to heal.

If you have residual pain and stiffness, or the area becomes more painful in cold weather, Sinew Injury Poultice is also used to significantly stimulate circulation to injured tendons and ligaments to further promote their healing. By strongly increasing circulation, it counteracts the reduced blood flow caused by cold weather that commonly aggravates chronic tendon and ligament injuries.

If you exercise, play sports, or do other strenuous activities, Sinew Sports Massage Oil warms and stimulates muscles for exertion and relieves muscle tightness and soreness after activity. Warming and preparing your muscles before activity can improve flexibility, enhance performance, and reduce the risk of injury.

Frequently Asked Questions

You may also find these commonly asked questions helpful.

Why does my elbow throb when I play tennis?

Your elbow may throb during tennis when repeated gripping and swinging continue stressing painful tendons around the elbow.

Can playing tennis make my throbbing elbow worse?

Yes. Continuing to grip and swing can add more stress to an already painful elbow and make the throbbing more noticeable.

Why does my elbow start throbbing later during tennis?

The throbbing may build as repeated swings and forearm fatigue accumulate during your tennis session.

Should I stop playing tennis if my elbow throbs?

If your elbow becomes increasingly painful or starts throbbing during play, reducing the activity can help limit additional stress while you determine the cause.

Why does my elbow still throb after playing tennis?

Repeated tennis activity can leave irritated tendons around your elbow painful after play, particularly when the area remains stressed between sessions.

The information provided here is intended to help you better understand your symptoms and recovery, but it is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Persistent, severe, or worsening symptoms should be evaluated by a qualified healthcare professional.