Elbow pain that gets worse the longer you play tennis is often a sign that repeated strokes are overworking the forearm tendons before they have time to recover.
Elbow pain that keeps getting worse the more you play tennis usually starts as a mild ache but gradually becomes sharper or more noticeable as each game goes on. This often happens because repeated gripping, serving, and backhand shots continue stressing the same forearm tendons until they become less able to handle the workload.
You may notice your elbow feels fine during warm-up, but after a few games it starts to ache every time you hit the ball. As play continues, gripping the racket, hitting backhands, or even shaking hands afterward may become increasingly painful.
Instead of settling down between points, the soreness keeps building because the same movements are repeated hundreds of times during a match. When the forearm muscles begin to tire, they place even more stress on the tendon where they attach near the outside of the elbow, making each stroke feel progressively more uncomfortable.
The Pain Builds With Every Rally
You may notice each rally leaves your elbow a little more painful than the last.
Early in your session the discomfort may be easy to ignore, but repeated swings gradually increase the strain on the same area. By the end of your match, shots that felt effortless at the start may produce a sharp grab or lingering soreness.
Your Grip Starts Feeling Weaker As You Keep Playing
You might feel like holding the racket becomes harder as your elbow gets more painful.
As the forearm muscles fatigue, gripping tightly becomes more difficult and your elbow may ache during serves, volleys, or backhands. This combination of muscle fatigue and ongoing tendon stress often explains why the pain keeps increasing instead of leveling off.
Why Your Elbow Could Be Taking Longer To Heal
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 hurt more the longer I play tennis?
Repeated swings can overload the forearm tendons, causing pain to build throughout your match instead of improving.
Is this a sign of tennis elbow?
It can be. Pain on the outside of the elbow that worsens with gripping and backhand shots is a common pattern of tennis elbow.
Should I stop playing if my elbow pain keeps increasing?
If the pain continues to worsen during play, reducing activity and allowing time for recovery can help prevent the problem from becoming more persistent.
Why does my elbow feel worse after the match is over?
Once you cool down, the overworked tendons can stiffen, making the elbow feel sorer than it did during play.
Can changing my racket or technique help?
Yes. Adjusting grip size, string tension, stroke mechanics, or racket weight may reduce stress on the forearm and elbow.
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.
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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.
