Elbow getting very sore.... would a lighter racket help?

[NetProphet]

My elbow has been feeling a bit better, although still slightly sore, so I played for a few minutes the other day. I'm trying to reach a balance between "don't play thru it" and "I'm in my 50's and being athletic. Of course I'm going to have some aches and pains". Since playing the elbow doesn't feel any worse than before, so that's good. Also I'm doing tennis-elbow stretches and strength-building exercises.

Anyways, the Dotec AR is fantastic. I'm used to high-control all-wood blades, and it took me all of 5 minutes to get used to it. I really don't understand all of the resistance to these blades. It does everything well, including looping. Not too stiff or too fast. I think I nailed it with the slow Factive rubbers, which keep the dwell time up.

It's super light, very spinny, nice touch in the short game and plenty of power when you want it. Weird higher pitched and completely unique "tock" sound. Some have complained about this, I don't see the problem. Of course it's going to sound different, as it has a totally different construction.

Warning: the handle is so good that it instantly ruins all of your other blades. It's that good. It's big and has a lot of flare, and does indeed seem to help with a looser grip, which I will be focusing on. Every other handle now feels tiny and crude in comparison, and that includes Stiga Legend and OSP Elcon (the best large handles on the market).

Well, how is the elbow these days?
Have you had any treatment on it or it still needs rest?
Glad you found a blade you like too, never heard of Dotec Ar before ..

 

[dnelsen]

Well, how is the elbow these days?
Have you had any treatment on it or it still needs rest?
Glad you found a blade you like too, never heard of Dotec Ar before ..

Thanks

The elbow is in a steady state... it's always a little bit sore, and I'm playing at a mellow pace. I definitely can't do my 2+ hour league nights, but at least I can play. I'm doing stretching and exercises, and lots of ibuprofen.

The Dotec AR does not have the buttery feel of my OSP blades, but it's still quite good, and the weight difference is big. Definitely helpful.

The grip is really good for a feather light grip, which is my current goal. More hip motion, less arm and shoulder motion, feather light grip.

I'm 52, there's gonna be aches and pains, and I wanna play. "Wait til it doesn't hurt at all" isn't working for me. The key is that I'm very willing to stop playing after a brief session, and just be happy that I'm playing at all.

 

[dnelsen]

If it is TE then changing racket won't help as 177 is already light.

This ended up not being true. The Dotec AR is much lighter at 157 (a couple grams more now, with some edge tape), and it makes a very noticeable difference. Easier to control whilst being really focused on a controlled, compact swing and a very light grip.

I can tell it's helping, and when I go back to the Virtuoso AC at 177 it's like "no way, I'm sticking with the lighter setup". The Virtuoso AC is without question the better blade, in terms of looping and feel, but not a better handle. The Dotec handle is amazing.

 

[Tyce]

Just stay wary of the trap of "it's lighter so I can/need to swing even harder now"
If you can stay away from there, it will definitely keep the load lighter

 

[dnelsen]

Just stay wary of the trap of "it's lighter so I can/need to swing even harder now"
If you can stay away from there, it will definitely keep the load lighter

Agreed, thanks. Light grip, and don't swing for the fences.

 

[NetProphet]

Thanks

The elbow is in a steady state... it's always a little bit sore, and I'm playing at a mellow pace. I definitely can't do my 2+ hour league nights, but at least I can play. I'm doing stretching and exercises, and lots of ibuprofen.

The Dotec AR does not have the buttery feel of my OSP blades, but it's still quite good, and the weight difference is big. Definitely helpful.

The grip is really good for a feather light grip, which is my current goal. More hip motion, less arm and shoulder motion, feather light grip.

I'm 52, there's gonna be aches and pains, and I wanna play. "Wait til it doesn't hurt at all" isn't working for me. The key is that I'm very willing to stop playing after a brief session, and just be happy that I'm playing at all.

I hear ya. I'm not far off of your age and (altho currently the arm is fine) I already notice the changes that come with a few extra years! I need to start taking care of myself a bit better tbh and do some preventative stuff in an attempt for more longevity 😬
Glad to hear your still able to do it tho 🙂👍

 

[NetProphet]

This ended up not being true. The Dotec AR is much lighter at 157 (a couple grams more now, with some edge tape), and it makes a very noticeable difference. Easier to control whilst being really focused on a controlled, compact swing and a very light grip.

I can tell it's helping, and when I go back to the Virtuoso AC at 177 it's like "no way, I'm sticking with the lighter setup". The Virtuoso AC is without question the better blade, in terms of looping and feel, but not a better handle. The Dotec handle is amazing.

Am very happy to be wrong there!
I really wouldn't have believed that 20g could make that much difference for the elbow....
How does the elbow feel if you do the stroke movements without a racket?
Is it painless then? Or already slight discomfort?

 

[Sland]

You might want to try a nittaku tenaly blade. I had similar pain along my arm until I switched blades. The angle does make a difference

I remember you from that thread a while ago! Glad to hear you tried it and it ended up being a good fit that’s awesome.

 

[Tyce]

I keep encountering some light elbow pain every now and then, but really only when I make moves I shouldn't be making in the first place:
Hard swings with my elbow contracted to an angle <90 degrees
Forearm only slaps or spins

Those things result in some weird jiggles around the elbow joint because it's hard to impossible to keep a stable arm like that.

So for now I just use it as an alarm to play better. If I don't, it hurts. Really clear

 

[Tyce]

I got an elbow brace, kinda like a patella band. The pain has been coming more frequently, and also outside TT so I had to do something.
Played a match with it last night and it helped maybe 80-90%
When we were warming up I could already feel it coming on, but when I put the brace on it was almost zero again. Very happy about that.

My issue is on the golfers elbow side, which is the inside of the arm when you put your hand palm up.

 

[Takkyu_wa_inochi]

i've recovered 80% from my tennis elbow (initial injury Dec2023)

the regenerative treatment is really what made miracles for it from Q3 last year.
its a bit expensive and not reimbursed by national or private insurance but it was totally worth it for me.

I'm not even doing any special exercise nowadays. im just stretching, also listening to my body, and i go to at the spa (hot bath / sauna + cold bath) very regularly. I use an elbow supporter while playing

the point is not to get hurt again so if im suspicious then i stop playing.

 

[Tyce]

i've recovered 80% from my tennis elbow (initial injury Dec2023)

the regenerative treatment is really what made miracles for it from Q3 last year.
its a bit expensive and not reimbursed by national or private insurance but it was totally worth it for me.

I'm not even doing any special exercise nowadays. im just stretching, also listening to my body, and i go to at the spa (hot bath / sauna + cold bath) very regularly. I use an elbow supporter while playing

the point is not to get hurt again so if im suspicious then i stop playing.

What is this magic? I know a couple of methods that could help accelerate tendon regeneration, like shockwave, but in general tendon issues are painfully slow to recover from.

 

[Infernal]

I can tell it's helping, and when I go back to the Virtuoso AC at 177 it's like "no way, I'm sticking with the lighter setup". The Virtuoso AC is without question the better blade, in terms of looping and feel, but not a better handle. The Dotec handle is amazing.

Hey, can you provide any colour on how Virtuoso AC compares with other blades in terms of speed? I was asking about it here. Thanks!

 

[gingertom]

Victus black balsa are the lightest blades i believe you can find.
black 5 64 grams. allround. the black 7 which is a little bit heavier is off+

Victas Black Balsa 5.0

Victas Black Balsa 5.0 table tennis blade reviews and ratings on Revspin.net.

revspin.net

 

[Takkyu_wa_inochi]

What is this magic? I know a couple of methods that could help accelerate tendon regeneration, like shockwave, but in general tendon issues are painfully slow to recover from.

this page is in Japanese, that is the description of the treatment from the clinic I went

PDF-FD療法 - 神田痛みのクリニック｜腰痛 首・肩の痛み ブロック注射 筋膜リリース注射

PDF-FD （Plasma Derived Factor-Freezedry）は患者さんご自身の血液から成長

kic-med.com

in Europe or US or elsewhere, the name of the treatment may differ.

in my own case, in Japan, the cost was around 1000$ for 3 injections (1month interval) and that was enough to cure me.

i could still play before I started the treatment (i had recovered 25%) but if i played too much, I had to interrupt for a week or more. I don't have so much pain while playing except if i make a "wrong" move, but rather after the session.

to deal with the pain, i also had to play more relaxed than i used to

---
PS My wife had more serious problems with her knees, they were very painful and she needed sticks to walk. Now with the same treatment she recovered 80% as well. but she had to use more doses than I did, so it was twice the price for her.

 

[Tyce]

It seems we refer to this as Platelet Rich Plasma or PRP injection. Very interesting

 

[Takkyu_wa_inochi]

It seems we refer to this as Platelet Rich Plasma or PRP injection. Very interesting

yes thats it.
Alas, it doesn't work for everybody but when it does, its quite effective.

 

[Ers123]

Using some grip tape on the handle may help. If your bat's handle is thin or you feel so and if you are squeezing the handle tightly while you are hitting the ball I think using grip tape might help.
And for reducing the weight of the bat you can cut the rubbers a little bit higher from the beginning part of the handle. ( like the penhold bats) By doing this you can reduce the weight of the bat 4-5 grams .

 

[Tyce]

There's two varieties, tennis and golfers elbow.

Tennis elbow happened to me when I was gripping too tightly, and curved my wrist inward under tension when playing FH. That caused a lot of tension on the outside tendon.

Golfers elbow happened with the opposite action (compensation), leading the swing with the elbow (exaggerated) and having the wrist following behind the forearm. With the swing in this "curved outward" position, tightening the grip for solid contact puts a lot of stress on the inside tendon.

My tennis elbow healed with rest and more relaxed playing. Also, a lighter setup aggravated the issue less, and I've been experimenting with bigger grips intuitively so I'm sure that helps too.

My golfers elbow is really forcing me to quit some bad slap habits and swing harmoniously. As soon as I err on the side of sloppy, my arm is telling me that's just not good. It's actually a bonus for my game in the long term because I'm getting direct feedback on swings that give me bad contact.
At the same time I can still execute correct swings with good contact and not feel any pain. Maybe not swing for the fences but that's OK, I need to learn to play less power anyway.