When you think of tennis injuries what comes to mind first? Elbow, right? Well tennis players also have issues with back pain associated with injuries from playing tennis.
How tennis players move
It makes sense if you think about how tennis players move. Front hand and backhand shots require a lot of rotation of the trunk and twisting of the spine. The serve causes the player to hyperextend the lower back which can compress lumbar discs, stresses the small spinal joints, muscles, ligaments and tendons.
The sudden start and stop motions during game play take a lot of back muscle support. All of this can cause a lot of pain in a tennis player’s back, whether from injuries created by the motions, or from overuse of those muscles.
Ways to prevent injuries or overuse
There are ways to prevent injuries or general overuse issues. Some are tennis specific. These include being “fitted” for a tennis racket so you have a racket that has the correct racket tension for your game. A more flexible tennis racquet requires more trunk rotation than a stiffer tennis racquet with less tension in the strings.
Your racket should also be properly sized for your hand to help with the body mechanics of playing. When serving, consider using a slice serve instead of a kick serve. This keeps the back arch to a minimum. While playing bend the knees, hold in your stomach muscles and keep good posture. Have a tennis pro help you with your form to be sure you aren’t going to injure yourself.
Others are more general. Speak with a sports trainer and/or physical therapist and learn new ways to work on core muscle strength, body mechanics and other means to minimize back injuries.
If you have hurt yourself playing tennis, give our sports medicine specialists a call today or come in for a FREE Pain Evaluation!
