Racquet sports are booming across Sussex — and so is a nagging pain on the outer elbow. Local chiropractor Dr Lewis Kingsnorth explains a non-invasive option for when it won’t settle.
By Dr. Lewis Kingsnorth, DC MChiro · Chiropractor, GCC Reg. 3359 · Hove Shockwave
Padel has become one of Britain’s fastest-growing sports, with new courts appearing across Sussex. With that surge has come a familiar complaint: a nagging pain on the outer elbow that flares when you grip a racquet, lift a kettle or turn a key. Racquet players tend to call it tennis or padel elbow; its clinical name is lateral epicondylitis, or lateral elbow tendinopathy. We have felt it at the clinic — a steady run of these elbows over the past six months, likely down to the glorious summer getting everyone out onto court.
What Causes Tennis or Padel Elbow?
The trouble sits where the forearm’s extensor tendons anchor to the bony point on the outside of the elbow. Repetitive gripping and wrist extension — a new sport, a jump in training, or months of the same movement at work — can overload that attachment, leaving the tendon painful and slow to settle. It is not only athletes: decorators, plumbers, gardeners and anyone gripping for a living, too.
Despite the old “-itis” label, it is now understood as a tendon struggling to repair under repeated load rather than simple inflammation — which is why rest alone rarely fixes it, and why rebuilding the tendon matters.
When Shockwave Can Help
Most cases settle over time, and the cornerstone of recovery is well established: easing the aggravating load and following a graded strengthening programme to rebuild the tendon’s tolerance. The snag is that a stubborn minority stays sore for months, when the elbow is often too painful to do that strengthening work well. That is where shockwave can earn its place.
Shockwave delivers focused pressure waves into the tendon, aiming to stimulate the body’s own repair response and settle pain, so rehabilitation can move forward. It is non-invasive, needs no anaesthetic, and is usually given as a short course of weekly sessions, each taking around 15 minutes — and most people can carry on playing their sport while the course is under way.
A Comprehensive Approach to a Stubborn Elbow
Shockwave is only part of the picture. A course with us also includes rehabilitation of the forearm and grip muscles, technique correction for racquet players, and hands-on soft-tissue work — including myofascial release using a smooth-edged tool. We are also the only clinic in Sussex to offer both radial and focused shockwave alongside EMTT, a related magnetic-field therapy — more than one way to approach a stubborn elbow.
As a pickleball player myself, I have real sympathy for anyone whose racquet habit has turned on them. At Hove Shockwave we assess the elbow properly first, using on-site digital X-ray if necessary to rule out other causes, so we can be honest about whether treatment is likely to suit you and what realistic recovery looks like. And if your pain followed a fall, or you notice marked swelling, locking, or numbness or tingling into the hand, that deserves prompt assessment rather than wait-and-see.
Kind regards,
Dr Lewis Kingsnorth