Tackling Lateral Elbow Pain: The Padel Issue.

Tackling Lateral Elbow Pain: The Padel Issue.

If you play racquet sports, lift weights, or spend hours at a desk, you have likely heard of ‘tennis elbow’. However, with the massive surge in a certain sport’s popularity, clinic rooms are currently seeing a huge rise in what is now commonly known as ‘padel elbow’.

What is actually happening?

Current sports medicine journals refer to this condition as lateral epicondylalgia. In plain terms, it involves the tendons of your forearm muscles—specifically the extensor carpi radialis brevis. These tendons attach to the lateral epicondyle, which is the small bony bump on the outside of your elbow.

When you repeatedly overload this area, the tendon struggles to tolerate the load, resulting in cellular changes and micro-trauma in the tissue. This is what causes the sharp pain and weakness when you try to grip a racquet, lift a kettle, or shake hands.

The Good News

First and foremost, we want to reassure you: this condition is highly self-limiting and entirely not dangerous. You have not caused permanent damage to your arm, and the tissue will eventually heal. The catch is that waiting for it to resolve on its own can take several months, which is incredibly frustrating when you just want to play.

The Hidden Causes and Your Equipment

The elbow is often just the victim of poor mechanics elsewhere. A significant number of elbow issues are actually caused by weak shoulder girdle stability or underlying neck stiffness and pain. If your shoulder cannot properly absorb and generate the force of a swing, your elbow has to work overtime to compensate.

In the case of padel, your equipment also plays a massive role. The type of racquet you choose dictates the load placed on your arm. Padel racquets generally fall into three shapes:

• Round racquets: The weight is balanced near the handle. These offer maximum control and are by far the safest option for your elbow tendons.
• Teardrop racquets: A balanced middle ground between power and control.
• Diamond racquets: Top-heavy designs meant to generate maximum power on smashes. Because the weight is furthest from your hand, these place the highest amount of leverage and stress directly onto your forearm.

Why Tailored Treatment Matters

We know it is incredibly easy to Google or ask AI how to fix lateral elbow pain. Doing so will instantly give you a generic list of exercises. However, the way to make rehabilitation successful is in the tailoring of the treatment to the individual.

“The devil is in the detail.”

If your pain is driven by a stiff neck, a weak rotator cuff, or the diamond racquet you bought last week would not be taken into account. Any effective treatment is down to these details.

Simple treatments are highly effective when prescribed properly. An evidence-based approach involves progressive strength loading for the forearm, soft tissue stretches, and modifying your activity levels. For more stubborn cases, we also have shockwave therapy available at our clinic, which is highly effective at stimulating the tendon’s natural healing response.

Because the root cause can vary so widely from person to person, it is important to be assessed and treated appropriately rather than guessing with generic exercises.

Don’t let a self-limiting issue keep you off the court for the rest of the season. Book in to see one of our specialised physios to help you get better.

This simple tool is a brilliant and straightforward way to self-manage and ease muscle tension, helping you maintain comfort between appointments. They also make a lovely, thoughtful gift for a friend or family member. Available at CGP reception. 

Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend.

Until next time, stay active and remember: ‘Motion is Lotion’

Kevin Kong

Clinic Director