I've spoken to a lovely lady on the helpline this morning. She has been a keen tennis player all her life and due to her RA is starting to have problems gripping the racket. She told me she thought this was a 'trivial' query, but to my mind, if this has been an important part of her life and she gets a lot of enjoyment from it that can't be described as trivial!
Just wondering if anyone has experience with gloves they have purchased to help them with grip (might not be specifically for a tennis racket) and anything else they can suggest which might help her.
Many thanks
Victoria
(NRAS Helpline)
Written by
Victoria-NRAS
Partner
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Well my favourite ones are the finger less ones with the grip in the inside great for the cold mornings plus they are good for my circulation and RA and OA
I've just asked my son who is a pro tennis coach. You can get gloves that strap on to the racket handle, so aiding grip. I'm awaiting him sending me the name of supplier or a link.
Thank you to you and your son, that's very kind of you. I am going to send the lady a link to this page so that she will see the name of the supplier when you have it.
Hope these help. If she needs any more help pm me and I will give her my sons contact details if you want as he does a lot of work with people with disabilities. Wheelchair tennis etc. He is based in Surrey but travels around the country doing seminars, lectures and coaching.
That's great. I definitely came to the right place! I have given the lady a link to this page, and told her about your first comment, so she knew you would be coming back with links. Really appreciate you taking the time to do this for her.
I am the daughter of the lady who phoned the helpline this morning. Mum is not used to using forums, but has picked up a lot of useful ideas from here. Thank you for all the suggestions and to Victoria for starting the thread. It does mean a lot to my mum so thank you very much xx
You are absolutely right. Nothing is trivial with rheumatoid arthritius (RA.) I got some great "splints" from my Occupational Therapist (OT) that are very soft but very comfortable and wrap round the thumbs as well as the hands. Unlike the early splints with metal plates, these are very flexible. When I first got them I thought they couldn't possibly be any good because they were so soft ad comfortable but they helped me a lot. The lady who has requested them will have to be referred to OT through her rheumatologist. I hope this is helpful.
I don't know if this would help for tennis but I often use a small length of cohesive support bandage round my fingers when they are being tricky - it stops them getting knocked and because it sticks to itself it does away with the need for pins or tape.
Also as others have mentioned the Imak fingerless compression arthritis gloves are very good for warmth and support. You can even wear them under ordinary gloves to stop them aching from the cold. Amazon sell the gloves and the bandage can be bought at Boots (or even cheaper at Poundland).
Very impressed she is still able to play! I haven't been able to play either tennis or squash since diagnosis in 1978. Too many joint problems. Can still manage croquet....
I had to pack up squash as well Matilda. But oddly enough can still play golf. Something to do with the constant jarring on the joints with racket sports. Good luck with the croquet 😊
Re gloves for grip.. I use active hands compression gloves.(arthritis care) They help a little with pain due to compression, finger tips are open and have small silicone spots on palms and fingers which aid grip.. they are grey and look ok to wear out.. available from amazon.
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Thoughts on compression gloves please?
