Hi all, so looking for some advice and other players experiences. So for the last couple years or so now ive played with a towel grip over the wood on a g5 grip, around 6 months or so ago i noticed i was getting pain in my wrist during warm up but after a couple mins that went away and had no issues while playing. Recently it has got worse to the point where i just could not play pain free at all, my technique i would say is not perfect but relatively good using the correct gripping techniques, i read that using a thicker grip would help with wrist pain so tried a towel on top of a standard grip, again g5. I noticed that my wrist did hurt a bit less though i actually find the thicker grip less enjoyable to play with generally especially in defence i feel i cant flick the racket how i would like to and dont defend aswell as with a thinner grip, also my smash has lost a bit of power so i think i am probably quite a wristy player in general! Has anybody else had a similar issue? And has grip size been a major factor in both causing the injury or making it better? I know rest will eventually heal the issue i have but when i go back to playing im wondering if to go back to my preferred setup or if using a thicker grip will need to be the way forward for me possibly. Racket wise ive been using medium flex even balanced rackets such as the li ning n9ii and adidas wucht p3 so isnt down to head heavy or too stiff rackets.
Do you have big hands? If you have large hands, then you would get a benefit from having a bigger grip on the racquet. There's a few rules you could use (Certain amount of space between thumb and second finger when holding etc) but I can't remember the specifics. My experience in grips is this; G3 (Nanospeed 9900) racquet with a Yonex PU super grap was too big to let me change from backhand / bevel to forehand grip effectively. But it was comfortable to smash and do overheads with. G4 (Nanoray 800 etc) racquet with an ac102ex overgrip is just right G5 (Nanoflare 800lt) racquet with an ac102ex overgrip is a bit too small still Middle finger distance from fingertip to the first part of the final knuckle is ~9.2cm, my hands are average to smallish when compared to other male hands. I would advise you to 1 - See a physio. I am lucky in that one works at the end of my road and she also plays badminton, so is experienced. and 2 - experiment with different amounts of grip thickness across multiple racquets until you find what is good for you.
I dont have large hands no, using your measurement ive got about 9.4cm so very similar to yourself.. I do find its the grip change i struggle with when using a thicker grip, overhead shots not so much but im thinking that even though i feel more comfortable playing with a thin grip it may actually not be doing my hand/wrist any favours! I will be visiting a physio soon also but i have noticed that simply resting does seem to show signs of getting better.
Hard to say without seeing you play but when you say you "flick" the racket and that you are quite a "wristy" player, the first thing in my mind is the technique. I remember having wrist pain before I get coaching sessions when I used too much wrist and not enough pronation/finger power in my shots. Again not jumping to any conclusion as you could have great technique and experiencing wrist pain for other reasons.
No for sure im open to the idea my technique may be part of the cause, its far from perfect but its better than the beginner pan handle overhead strokes you see new players using for sure.. i just feel i dont get the use of the finger power as much with the bigger grip so i feel a snappiness to my shots with a thinner grip for sure. Though there may be a case for me using too much wrist in my shots for sure and something il try to pay more attention to!
