I'll swap you for a workers back, tennis elbow ffs sounds like an injury that nick kyrious would whine about
I'll 2nd riding with front hand palm up as much as you can, I've suffered with tennis elbow in past seasons, and it's had a negative effect on some seasons, I've found especially at the start of the season when you aren't in such good condition to make sure while you ride between tricks/transitions to turn your front palm up and keep it beside the centre lines and take most of the pressure that way. Also avoid riding underpowered at the start of the season, it puts lots of pressure on your arm. As you get into the season and you arms adapt you may find you won't have any more problems.
Currently I have a bit of tennis elbow from the gym, my physiotherapist has me doing minute hangs off a chin-up bar to build grip strength and also doing slow 8kg kettle bell forearm twists to build up strength 15 reps x 2 sets each arm. Like this video
Easy on the bar don't rip the grip off.
i try to use a relaxed grip.
Aiming to pat the chicken rather than choke it.
lol-
the chicken choker
Reminds me of my first "big" kite - a slingshot Octane 13m in my second season. No idea what year it was - green and grey - but it would destroy my forearms within an hour and almost reduce me to tears. It was way worse when I was underpowered and working the kite - no doubt my technique was half the problem. I had an adjustable strap that would provide pressure on the forearm tendons/ elbow which would help, plus stretching exercises would give some relief but i had to get rid of the kite eventually.
I found foil kites a massive help because they basically fly off the front lines with almost zero bar pressure - these were the Flysurfer Speed 3's at the time. I also started to ride in the surf a lot more - downwinders on a surfboard which requires a lot of one handed riding, allowing the non steering hand to rest.
In summary equipment can make a difference - try some different kites, styles and sizes. Too small a board could also see you bogging down increasing the effort required to ride upwind. Mix up your riding and consciously relax your grip and rest as much as you can when on the water. Try riding one handed (Index and middle finger on either side of the depower line/ middle of the bar) and ride the right size kite for the conditions - you will find you don't need much more than fingertip pressure when cruising in a straight line. White knuckles & clenched teeth is a good sign something isn't working as well as it should. Foiling could also be good for you as the lower drag results in much lower forces generally but that a whole different thing.
Hey mate
i treat and fix people with TE almost every week. 9 times out of 10, it's referring pain from jacked up muscles.
The main suspect that comes to mind is the lats. Lats refer pain straight into the elbow. So it would be worth rolling your lats out on a foam roller and see what happens. I'll ad a pic for reference.
If if not lats. There are a few other suspects that you could work on.
The number one thing that helped me was the understanding that the elbow is a hinge joint.
It is really bad to twist the elbow under load.
So, with my new found comprehension I pay attention to using the elbow joint purely as a hinge. I still get flare ups but focus on correct mechanical technique while kitesurfing keeps me on the water! :)
the F One Bandit range is the only kite you should be using if you want to ease the bar pressure off your joints,,,,a top of the range kite anyway,, I use them and find my body appreciates it ,,,hope it works for you,,,
Simply Avoid steering with your wrist, especially when holding the bar close to the Center of the bar !!!!! (One handed or two handed)
ie. don't twist your wrists to steer !!!!
So to fix your elbow, Move your hands out to the end of the bar to steer and do a straight pull from the shoulder to steer !!!!
Works every time for me, solves the problem, nothing else needed, the pain goes away after a couple of weeks.