Q. I’ve developed a sharp, stabbing pain in my elbow. I play a lot of pickleball. Could this be causing it, and what can I do about it?
A.
What you describe could be tendinopathy, meaning a condition affecting the tendons. Tendons are stretchy cords of tissue that attach a muscle to a bone. At the elbow, there’s a tendon on the outside of the elbow (common extensor tendon) and another one the inside of the elbow (common flexor tendon). Overuse or repetitive motion of the wrist and arm, including from sports such as tennis, pickleball or golf, can cause conditions commonly called tennis elbow (when the common extensor tendon is affected) or golfer’s elbow (when it’s the common flexor tendon). Too much pickleball may be at fault, but these conditions can happen to anyone.