Grip not a factor in tennis elbow

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- The grip of a player on a tennis racket is not a factor in whether or not a player may develop tennis elbow, according to Los Angeles researchers.

Dr. George F. Hatch III of the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles conducted the study while in training at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles.

"Clinicians who treat patients with tennis elbow often tell them to try a different size grip in order to alleviate muscle fatigue," says Hatch. "Our study demonstrates that those recommendations have no scientific basis. Therefore, it is reasonable to recommend whatever grip size feels most comfortable for them."

Tennis elbow, or lateral epicondylitis, is the most common upper extremity complaint among recreational players.

The researchers inserted electrodes into five different muscles in the dominant arms of 16 college tennis players to measure the firing pattern of their muscles. Players then performed three single-handed backhand strokes using identical model rackets with three different grip sizes. Each player's strokes were captured on high-speed video, which was then synchronized with the corresponding EMG.

Overuse, microtrauma and failed healing in both of these muscles can result in tendonitis, yet larger and smaller grip sizes did not affect the activity of these two muscles, according to the study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine.