Q: I recently lost about 30 pounds and took up tennis, which helps keep my weight in check. But after a year of lessons and playing, I now have tennis elbow! I’m over 50. What can I do to keep playing? — Julie, via e-mail
A. Thirty pounds? Woo-hoo! Great work. And tennis is great exercise (especially singles tennis), burning up to 600 calories an hour. Unfortunately, tennis elbow, caused by inflamed tendons, is a common overuse injury: The more you play, the more likely you’ll get it. Being older has a hand in it, too.
You’re likely to get into the swing again without surgery if you stay off the courts until the inflammation subsides, or play with your other arm. Can’t? OK, rest both from tennis but not from exercise. Aspirin or ibuprofen should relieve the ache and help temper the inflammation; ice massage hastens healing. If that’s not enough, your doc may suggest steroid injections. There’s interesting new evidence that Botox injections ease tennis elbow pain, but Botox also can reduce arm strength. You can bet the Williams sisters won’t be trying it anytime soon.
Once your elbow is better, here’s how to keep problems from coming back:
• Ask your tennis pro to show you how to return the ball with less stress on your elbow.
• Also ask if you need a smaller, stiffer racquet or a different grip size.
• Have an experienced trainer or physical therapist teach you exercises to strengthen your arms, using light weights.
• Always warm up before hitting the court.
In the meantime, do cardio and leg resistance training regularly. Don’t let your elbow be an excuse to gain those 30 pounds, or even 3, back again.
Q: Is it better to use agave syrup sweetener in my coffee than sugar? — Eva, via e-mail
A. Agave is a pretty sweet deal. Because it’s four times sweeter than sugar, you need far less of it. Just 1/4 teaspoon (4 calories) will taste like 1 teaspoon of sugar (16 calories) in coffee or tea. Agave’s sweetness comes from fructose, which your body sends to your liver for extra processing before shipping it to your bloodstream. Glucose goes straight to your bloodstream and va-va-voom! Up zooms your blood sugar. Still, agave is a refined sweetener (you didn’t think they just squeezed it out of agave cactus, did you?), and fructose may increase your risk of metabolic syndrome and diabetes. So like all sugar, go easy.
Q: I have lot of whiteheads, especially on my forehead. I don’t know why I get them or how to get rid of them. Can you help? – Millie, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
A. Why is your skin acting like a teenager’s? Don’t blame chocolate or chips unless you rub them on your face. Hormones often play a role in adult acne— we’ve heard women fuming (especially during menopause) about getting pimples and wrinkles at the same time. But other things can cause breakouts, too, including cosmetics, hair products, stress, sweating and bangs.
A whitehead is a closed comedone, doc talk for a pimple, caused when a pore is clogged with oil, dirt, debris and eventually bacteria. (If you’re collecting acne trivia, an open comedone is a blackhead.) The same things that help teenagers likely will help you: drugstore products with benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, sulfur or resorcinol. These zap the germs, cap the oil well and peel off dead skin cells, which add to clogs. Say goodbye to your bangs, if you wear them, and use oil-free, noncomedogenic cosmetics. If these steps don’t work, a skin doc can prescribe something stronger.
There’s one other possibility, and you’ll need a dermatologist’s eye to be sure: milia, tiny cysts that contain keratin, a skin protein. Anyone can get milia, even babies, and they’re almost always benign. Using a sterile needle, your doc can prick the bump and coax out what’s inside. (Don’t try this yourself.) If your milia stage more comebacks than Britney Spears, your skin doc may prescribe topical retinoids or treatments to bring them to heel.
The YOU Docs, Mehmet Oz and Mike Roizen, are authors of “YOU: On a Diet.” Want more? See “The Dr. Oz Show” on TV (check local listings). To submit questions, go to .
