Thumb Joint Pain Griping too tight?

[RLA_100]

Hi,
I just started playing tennis and got into it very heavily (playing 4-5 hours a day). I had to stop though because I got a pain in the thumb and it's lower joint, it hurts the most when I serve. However it hurts when I grip the racquet also. If I right hand so my knuckles are in front of my face and my move my thumb directly to the left if feels as if is popping. I hope this is not serious. I think this may because by me griping the racquet incorrectly or too tight, or using an incorrect grip size. Anyone experience something similar to this before?

Thank you very much,
Rio

[alsipsclar]

on most standard forehands and serves, the thumb grip shouldnt be too hard at all. u can practically hit both shots WITHOUT the thumb at all, using simply leverage from ur 3 lower fingers (pinky to middle) and the meat of ur palm.

ur serve is like throwing a baseball. noone throws with the thumb. it's primarily the fingers for guidance, wrist/downward for power.

ur thumb is more neccesary on a 1-handed backhand, not so much for a 2-handed backhand.

try to practice balancing the racket between ur fingers and palm instead of forcing it with ur thumb and index finger

[thewh00sel]

Wrist/Joint pain is common from too small of a grip size, if this is the case, build up the grip, rest a few days and try playing. See if the pain is still there.

[tenista]

You say the pain is most severe during the serve. If that's the case, your serve grip may be wrong -- it should be somewhere between the continental and backhand grips. I suspect you may be using your forehand grip, which puts enormous pressure on the thumb. Ask a pro for a serve lesson... on the serve, you should barely be gripping the racquet at all -- flexibility and "the whip" are what you should be aiming for.

[lancymoor102]

For the past two weeks, I've had sharp pain in my back and in my chest (below my left breast). The pain in my back is a mild stabbing pain, and the pain in my chest is a mild deep crushing-like pain that hurts mainly when I take a deep breath. The back pain is more constant but also worsens when I take a deep breath. Have you got any ideas what it could be?