Effects of 8 Weeks of Two Exercise Programs on Risk Factors Associated With Epicondylitis in Amateur Padel Players

Overview

Background: The physical demands of padel can increase the risk of injuries, particularly lateral epicondylitis in the elbow. Key risk factors include deficits in forearm muscle strength and rotator cuff weakness. Prevention programs focus on forearm strengthening, with no studies on rotator cuff strength. This study aims to compare two exercise programs designed to reduce risk factors for lateral epicondylitis in amateur padel athletes, specifically wrist extensor strength, grip strength, and rotator cuff strength.

A sample of 45 amateur padel athletes was allocated to a conventional exercise group (n = 15), a rotator cuff exercise group (n = 15), or a control group (n = 15). The first two groups performed two strengthening exercises, one common to both groups (wrist extension) and one group-specific exercise (forearm supination-pronation or the Y exercise). The control group did not perform any intervention. Participants were assessed at baseline (T0) and post-intervention (T1). Muscle strength was measured using the ActivForce 2 hand-held dynamometer. Outcome measures included wrist extensor strength, grip strength, shoulder internal rotation strength, shoulder external rotation strength, shoulder abduction strength, and the isometric external-to-internal rotation ratio (ER:IR).

Conditions