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Small grip size changes don't affect tennis elbow
Last Updated: 2006-12-08 14:31:11 -0400 (Reuters Health)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Small changes in racket grip size are unlikely to play a role in the development of tennis elbow, which suggest that correcting grip size is not likely to relieve the condition either, a new study shows.
There was no difference in forearm muscle activity when players used rackets with the recommended grip size or a grip one-quarter inch larger or smaller, Dr. George F. Hatch III of the University of California, Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles, and colleagues found.Playing with the wrong size tennis racket grip is frequently blamed for contributing to tennis elbow, a form of tendonitis known medically as lateral epicondylitis, Hatch and his team note. The condition, which accounts for 75 to 85 percent of elbow injures in recreational tennis players, is believed to be caused, in part, by poor wrist stability during backhand strokes.Tennis racket makers currently recommend a technique for gauging the appropriate grip size that involves measuring the distance from the middle of the palm to the tip of the ring finger. Theoretically, the researchers explain, a grip larger or smaller than the recommended size would make holding the racket more difficult and increase the risk of overuse injuries like tennis elbow.To investigate, Hatch and his colleagues had 16 college tennis players with no problems with their elbows or arms perform a series of one-handed backhands with rackets of the recommended grip size and one-quarter inch larger and smaller. Each of the players had several electrodes inserted in their forearms to measure muscle activity.There was no significant difference in players' forearm muscle activity based on racket size, the researchers found, making it unlikely that small grip size variations contribute to tennis elbow."Therefore, clinical recommendations relative to these grip sizes may not be the most effective treatment for patients with upper extremity overuse injuries, such as lateral epicondylitis," they conclude.
SOURCE: The American Journal of Sports Medicine, December 2006.
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