Playing tennis requires high demands on the body. However, most injuries can be minimized or prevented using the right technique, appropriate equipment, proper conditioning, and professional medical treatment. Let’s identify and deal with common tennis injuries.
Elbow Pain
Inflammation of the tendons joining the forearm muscles to the outside of the elbow. Tennis elbow is due to overuse or improperly holding the racquet. You could experience pain or burning on the outside of the elbow, weak grip strength, and morning stiff elbow with pain.
Shoulder Pain
Rotator cuff tendon injury in the shoulder is due to gradual tears from overuse or an acute injury. Overhead serving causes impinging between the tendon and above the bone. Symptoms include pain, tenderness, shoulder weakness, difficulty lifting the arm, and snapping and crackling noises while moving the shoulder.
Back Pain/Stress Fractures
Tennis serves require hyper-extension when bending the back and twisting of the trunk. This motion can cause a stress fracture in the vertebra and potential instability of the lower back, which causes long-term back pain, secondary disc herniation, or spinal facet joint arthritis.
Knee Pain
Jumper’s Knee is due to immense stress on the knee when jumping and landing repetitively, especially on cement or hard court. Tennis knee can cause pain and swelling and the affected area can feel warm.
Ankle Sprains
Multi-directional running and jumping increases your risk of landing incorrectly and turning over the ankle. A sprain can cause pain, stiffness, bruising and swelling. If it happens repetitively, the ankle will develop instability due to the torn ligament even with no fracture.
Treatments
Warm up and stretch: Before and after playing to warm up the body, increase flexibility of soft tissue, and bring down inflammation.
Conditioning program: Strengthening the core and surrounding back muscles will help minimize back pain. Increase both lower and upper body flexibility and strength.
Supportive gear: Elbow elastic support, ankle supports, patellar tendon wrap can reduce the workload of involved muscles and tendons, and support the ligament to decrease the risk of sprain.
R.I.C.E: Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation is always suitable within 24-48 hours after injury to help reduce pain or inflammation.
Physical therapy: The best nonsurgical approach, besides subsiding inflamed soft tissue, these treatments rebuild the strength of muscles.
Medication or injections: Oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can reduce pain and inflammation. Besides the most common steroid injection, the recent PRP injection is favored because it ceases inflammation and regenerates injured tissue.
Surgery: if the nonsurgical approach is unsuccessful. Surgery should be discussed with an orthopedist or sports medicine doctor.
Dr. David Jiang
Administrative Deputy Director of Orthopedics Sports Medicine
Parkway
Tel: 400 819 6622
