The inside of your elbow hurts when you serve in tennis because repeated gripping and forceful swinging can keep the tendons on the inside of your elbow under strain.
The inside of your elbow hurts during a tennis serve because the serve combines a firm grip with a forceful swinging motion that can put repeated stress on your already painful golfer’s elbow. You may notice the pain most when you accelerate through the serve, make contact with the ball, or finish the motion.
If you have golfer’s elbow, a tennis serve can make the inside of your elbow hurt in a way that feels sharp, sore, or pulling. You may feel the pain as you swing upward, as you make contact with the ball, or immediately afterward when you relax your arm.
You may also notice that your elbow feels fine during lighter movements but becomes painful once you start serving repeatedly. The more serves you hit, the more noticeable the soreness can become, especially if your elbow does not have enough time to recover between sessions.
Your Elbow Hurts Most When You Accelerate Through The Serve
The pain can spike as you swing faster and hit the ball.
You may feel the inside of your elbow pull or hurt sharply as you accelerate the racket toward the ball. A firm grip combined with the speed of the serve can place extra stress on the tendons along the inside of your elbow.
The Soreness Builds After Repeated Serves
Your elbow may become more painful as the serving session continues.
The first few serves may feel manageable, but the inside of your elbow can become increasingly sore as you keep practicing. You may also notice that the elbow remains tender afterward or hurts again the next time you return to serving.
Why Your Elbow Keeps Hurting During Tennis Serves
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 the inside of my elbow hurt when I serve in tennis?
The inside of your elbow may hurt during a tennis serve because gripping and forceful swinging repeatedly stress the tendons affected by golfer’s elbow.
Why does my golfer’s elbow hurt more after serving?
Repeated serves can continue stressing the painful area, causing soreness to build as the session continues.
Why does my elbow hurt when I hit the ball on a tennis serve?
Hitting the ball requires a fast, forceful swing and firm grip, which can increase stress on the tendons along the inside of your elbow.
Can tennis serving make golfer’s elbow worse?
Continuing to serve when your elbow is already painful can keep stressing the area and make symptoms persist or become more noticeable.
Why does my elbow hurt again when I return to serving?
Your elbow may hurt again when you return to serving if the area has not fully recovered from the repeated stress of previous activity.
Recommended Products
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• Acute Sinew Liniment — Used when pain, swelling, and inflammation are present to relieve pain, reduce swelling and inflammation, and increase blood flow and circulation to injured tissues.
• Sinew Herbal Ice — Used when the injured area is especially swollen, red, or warm to the touch to reduce swelling and inflammation while restoring normal circulation and range of motion.
• Chronic Sinew Liniment — Used for pain and stiffness after swelling and inflammation are gone to relieve pain, strongly stimulate circulation, and promote the healing of injured tendons and ligaments.
• Sinew Injury Poultice — Used for chronic tendon and ligament injuries to significantly stimulate circulation and promote deeper tissue recovery.
• Sinew Sports Massage Oil — Used before or after activity to warm and stimulate muscles, increase circulation, relieve tightness, and improve flexibility in muscles and joints.
Related Articles
You may also find these related articles helpful.
• I Have Golfer’s Elbow and My Golf Swing Makes My Elbow Hurt
• I Have Golfer’s Elbow and My Elbow Hurts After Hitting Balls at the Driving Range
• I Have Golfer’s Elbow and Playing Pickleball Keeps Making It Flare Up
• I Have Golfer’s Elbow and Throwing a Baseball Makes My Elbow Hurt
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.
