What the studies say
In the largest survey of recreational padel injuries, the elbow was the single most reported site, ahead of the knee and the shoulder, and the pattern is the tennis player's: pain on the outside of the elbow, worse on the backhand and the overhead, worst the morning after. The load is the cause; the gear decides how much of the load reaches the tendon. A head-heavy racket over 365 g with a hard core, a grip that is too thin and a bag of dead balls each add their share, and they add up.
What actually helps
- Lighter, head-light, soft core. The racket finder's arm-first picks are exactly this; the link above takes you there with the arm question already answered.
- A thicker grip. Two overgrips, or a proper undergrip build. If your fingertips touch your palm when you hold the racket, it is too thin.
- Fresh balls, a warm shoulder. Dead balls are heavier to accelerate; a cold shoulder recruits the forearm to do the shoulder's job.
- Contact in front. Late contact on the bandeja is the most common technique cause; a coach sees it in one session.
- Rest is not the fix. Eccentric wrist exercises with a light weight, every day, are; a physio will show you in fifteen minutes.
The long read: padel elbow and the other injuries, what causes each and what the pros do about them.