I Have Elbow Pain When I Play Pickleball and It Gets Worse the Longer I Play

Elbow pain that gets worse the longer you play pickleball can happen when repeated gripping and swinging continue stressing the muscles and tendons around your elbow.

Pickleball asks your forearm muscles to work over and over as you grip the paddle, change direction, and hit repeated shots. Those muscles and their tendons attach around the elbow, so irritation in this area can become more noticeable once you have been playing for a while.

The longer you stay on the court, the less comfortable the elbow may become during movements that felt easier earlier in the game. Instead of one particular swing causing the problem, you may notice the pain gradually increasing until even ordinary shots start to bother your elbow.

The Pain Builds With Every Repeated Swing

Your elbow keeps working through every paddle swing, even when each individual shot feels manageable.

Repeated swinging makes the muscles and tendons around your elbow repeatedly control your wrist and forearm. If those tissues are already irritated, each additional shot adds more work before the area has a chance to settle down.

Later In The Game, Your Elbow Feels More Painful

Fatigue can make the elbow pain much more noticeable as the game goes on.

You may notice that your first few games or rallies feel relatively comfortable, but the elbow starts hurting more during longer rallies or later in the session. As the forearm muscles tire, they may have a harder time doing their job comfortably, making the existing elbow problem stand out more with each swing.

Why Your Elbow Pain Keeps Getting Worse

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 pain get worse the longer I play pickleball?

Repeated gripping and swinging keep working the muscles and tendons around your elbow, so fatigue can make existing elbow pain increasingly noticeable.

Why does my elbow feel fine at first but hurt more later in pickleball?

Your elbow may feel better at the beginning because the area has not yet accumulated the fatigue and repeated stress that become more noticeable later.

Can playing pickleball repeatedly make elbow pain worse?

Yes. Continuing the same repeated gripping and swinging can keep stressing an already painful elbow and make symptoms more noticeable during play.

Why does my elbow hurt more during long pickleball rallies?

Long rallies require more repeated paddle swings, giving the muscles and tendons around your elbow more work to handle as the rally continues.

Should I keep playing pickleball if my elbow pain keeps getting worse?

If your elbow pain consistently increases during play, reducing the activity can help avoid repeatedly stressing the painful area.

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.