I Have Tennis Elbow and Gripping Anything Tightly Makes My Elbow Hurt

Gripping anything tightly can make your tennis elbow hurt because the muscles and tendon involved in your grip are repeatedly stressing an already painful area.

If you have tennis elbow, a tight grip can make the pain show up almost immediately. You might feel the outside of your elbow ache or sting when you squeeze a handle, open a stubborn jar, carry a heavy bag, or firmly hold a tool.

The harder you grip, the more your forearm muscles have to work, and those muscles attach around the outside of your elbow. When the area is already irritated from repeated use, a strong grip can bring the pain right back, even if your elbow feels fairly comfortable when your hand is relaxed.

The Pain Spikes When You Squeeze Hard

A firm grip can make the outside of your elbow hurt within seconds.

You may notice the pain most when you squeeze a handle, fist your hand tightly, or try to hold onto something that is heavy or awkward. The stronger the grip needs to be, the more noticeable the pulling or aching around your elbow may become.

Your Elbow May Stay Sore After You Let Go

The pain can hang around even after the tight grip is gone.

You may release the object and still feel soreness or tenderness around your elbow for a while afterward. If you keep gripping, lifting, or using your hand throughout the day, the area may not have enough time to settle before you ask it to work hard again.

Why Your Elbow Keeps Hurting When You Grip

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 repeated irritation.

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 gripping tightly make tennis elbow hurt?

Gripping tightly makes the forearm muscles work harder, which can increase pulling around the painful tendon at the outside of your elbow.

Why does my elbow hurt when I squeeze something?

Squeezing something firmly can aggravate the tendon involved in tennis elbow, especially when the area is already sore from repeated use.

Can gripping make tennis elbow worse?

Yes. Repeated forceful gripping can keep stressing the painful area and make your elbow remain sore or painful during everyday activities.

Why does my elbow hurt after gripping something tightly?

Your elbow may stay sore after gripping because the area was stressed during the activity and needs time to settle before being used forcefully again.

Should I avoid tight gripping with tennis elbow?

Reducing forceful gripping can give your painful elbow a better chance to settle, especially when gripping consistently brings the pain back.

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.