Tennis demands a lot of our body. Whether you are a casual player, at competition level, or at the high reaches of the sport, these demands at their base are one and the same. Injuries are an unfortunate product of playing the sports we love, and there are many factors that will impact on the presentation, frequency, and severity of these injuries.
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Common Tennis Injuries:
Some sports are upper body dominant, some are lower body dominant, and some are a combination of both but may be slightly skewed in one direction. Tennis calls on our body to work as a well-oiled machine where neither the upper nor lower limb dominates, they operate in synergy.
While overall strength, power and mobility is required for both the upper and lower body, tennis also has unique segmental requirements. The lower body requires significant dynamic stability and multi-planar movements to get around the court, while the upper body goes through high volume repetitive patterns to swing the racquet. Due to this, the range of potential injuries both acute and chronic that can be obtained through playing tennis is vast.
Lower limb injuries
Tennis movement around the court is explosive in nature and involves sharp changes of direction along with the constant presence of sprinting, pivoting and jumping. If underprepared for these demands it can lead to issues such as ankle sprains, patella tendinopathy and range of muscular strains of the thigh/lower leg.
Upper limb injuries
Tennis involves repetitive motions of the wrist, elbow, shoulder and shoulder girdle through serving and groundstrokes typically at high velocity. This, combined with the constant grip on the racquet while these motions are taking place can be a source of tension through the upper body.
Without appropriate tissue tolerance through physical preparation and recovery techniques this may lead to issues such as tennis elbow, rotator cuff pathologies, wrist tendon injury, and various muscular stains of the shoulder, upper arm & forearm.
Back injuries
The action of ground strokes and the serve require our back to go through large amounts of rotation, extension, and side bending many times through a match. Add to this the compressive forces applied to the system through sudden changes of direction around the court (hard courts especially), and our back will be absorbing plenty of load.
Again, without appropriate tissue tolerance for the supporting musculature through physical preparation and recovery techniques, acute and chronic issues such as lumbar/thoracic spasm, muscular strains, joint irritation and stress reactions can occur.
Benefits of Soft Tissue Therapy
Soft Tissue Therapy can be a brilliant way to un-wind after a heavy week of training or a long match, as well as be a constant in your routine as way to maintain and keep the body fresh. Our bodies are a marvel and they allow us to do incredible things, therefore it is vital that we put considerable effort into looking after it. Just some of the benefits of soft tissue therapy for your tennis game are:
- Massage can help to stimulate and enhance circulation to and from muscles, thereby increasing their nutrient supply and reducing waste product accumulation, in turn aiding greater performance on the court
- De-load and ‘relax’ the musculature, this can help reduce residual tension or spasmodic behaviour that can occur through training or match play
- Assist in improving range of motion, important when looking to get the most out of your service action or retrieving difficult shots
- At the end of the day, massage feels good! It can help stimulate the release of dopamine (happy hormone) and endorphins (the body’s natural pain killer)
Having played Tennis since the age of 9 I have a true passion for the sport, and it is something I look forward to playing throughout my life. In this current climate we find ourselves in, thankfully tennis is something that is still available to us (except stage 4 lockdown) and can be a brilliant way to escape the cabin fever of home or work while enjoying some fresh air.
I’m going to set each of you a challenge. The next time you pull up sore and weary from a match, don’t sit on it. The next time you put all your effort into that serve and you feel your shoulder become tight, or worse, aggravated, don’t just wait for it to pass. The next time you attempt to chase down that wide ball but your legs simply won’t allow you to get there, don’t be passive in your self-care.
Book yourself a treatment at Absolute Health & Performance and take a step towards getting yourself back in the game performing at your best,
Written by Josh Gordon – Sports & Remedial Therapist
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