Common tennis injuries and how to prevent them
When you play tennis you may notice chronic pain or short sharp pains during or after playing. If you have any pain it often needs physiotherapy or osteopathy. When you get a build up of niggles from more frequent sport it can lead to severe pain that may stop you from achieving your sporting goals. Even the best tennis players in the world get injured and they have daily physiotherapy and sports massages.
The most common tennis injuries
Shoulder injury
When you play tennis there is excess load on your shoulder joint. The muscles have to work in synchrony to allow you to play the best shots. When you swing the racket you may notice sharp pain which may be due to a muscle strain or cartilage damage. After the game you may notice that your muscles are tired or you may feel muscle soreness. These indicate the muscles aren’t strong enough for the load or activity.
Your physiotherapist and write you a shoulder strengthening programme. This can help to bullet proof your shoulders. Some of the most common shoulder pains in tennis are from rotator cuff tears, tendinitis/tendinopathies, bursitis. If you have shoulder impingement you may also notice your shoulder becomes painful when you do over head shots and serve.
Ankle injuries and calf pain
When you play tennis you have to run, jump and change direction at speed. These need strong ankles and good balance and if you are not fit for your sport you may sustain an injury to your ankle or calf. You could sprain your ankle if you roll it when landing. You may get a calf strain/ calf tear from sprinting without warming up. You may get achilles tendinitis (tendinopathy) from over-use when playing too frequently and not recovering enough between games.
Elbow pain (or tennis elbow)
Many people who play tennis experience tennis elbow. This is where you feel a sharp pain in the elbow or a burning pain. The pain is on the outside of the elbow in the tendon insertion. This may be due to the way you grip the racket or due to wrist weakness. Your physiotherapist will be able to give you a tendon loading programme to rehab your elbow pain and provide you with wrist physiotherapy and wrist strengthening exercises.
How do I prevent tennis injuries?
You must be fit for your sport. We say this time and time again. You must always warm-up and cool-down to prevent injuries in tennis. You must follow strengthening exercises so that your muscles are strong enough for playing. You need to do some mobility exercises to help with your flexibility for tennis. You must make sure you recover between games. Take epsom salt baths and sleep 8 hours per night. Take a rest day so that you aren’t playing daily. Making sure you have the correct footwear is vital. Your tennis trainers must be suitable for your type of feet. We also recommend the use of custom- made orthotics to our patients.
Poor posture can also impact on your game. If you have upper back stiffness and poor spine mobility you will struggle with your serves and rotating quickly at speed. You will also struggle to gain full range of movement at the shoulders for overhead shots. If you sit at a desk all back you may find your hips are tight and your hamstrings are short. This can lead to popping hip flexors or a hamstring strain.
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