{"id":11108,"date":"2016-09-07T15:22:40","date_gmt":"2016-09-07T05:52:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/sa\/?p=11108"},"modified":"2016-09-07T15:27:32","modified_gmt":"2016-09-07T05:57:32","slug":"common-tennis-injuries-monthly-first-aid-tip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/sa\/news\/2016\/09\/07\/common-tennis-injuries-monthly-first-aid-tip","title":{"rendered":"Common Tennis Injuries &#8211; Monthly First Aid Tip"},"content":{"rendered":"<h5>By Ross Smith (Paramedic, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.australianfirstaid.com.au\/\" target=\"_blank\">Australian First Aid<\/a>)<\/h5>\n<p>I am sure you are all aware that tennis is a complex physical sport requiring\u00a0hand-eye coordination and full body participation to run, position, swing, and\u00a0hit. Because of these demands, endurance, flexibility, and muscleconditioning\u00a0exercises are important to prevent injuries.<\/p>\n<p>Some tennis injuries\u00a0may be random occurrences (such as those that are the result of a fall etc.\u00a0this is way all tennis players should have a basic understanding of first aid).\u00a0However, most injuries can be minimised or prevented entirely by proper\u00a0conditioning, proper technique, appropriate equipment, and seeking medical\u00a0attention for persistent, painful conditions in a timely fashion.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Most Common Injuries associated with tennis are:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Tennis Elbow (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/sa\/news\/2016\/07\/04\/first-aid-tip-tennis-elbow\" target=\"_blank\">see previous news article<\/a> on tennis elbow)<\/li>\n<li>Rotating cuff tendinitis (shoulder blade)<\/li>\n<li>Wrist Strains<\/li>\n<li>Back pain<\/li>\n<li>Knee pain<\/li>\n<li>Calf &amp; Achilles tendon<\/li>\n<li>Tennis toe<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5>Rotator cuff tendinitis<\/h5>\n<p>The rotator cuff consists of muscles and tendons that originate from the\u00a0scapula (shoulder blade) and attach to the humerus (upper arm bone). These\u00a0muscles and tendons allow the shoulder to move in many directions. As a\u00a0result of overuse, you can develop tendinitis, or inflammation of the tendons.<\/p>\n<p>Rotator cuff tendinitis in recreational tennis players usually results from\u00a0excessive overhead serving. This is more likely to occur if you hold your arm\u00a0at a 90-degree angle from your side while you are serving. Changing your\u00a0technique to increase the angle between your arm and side to more than 90\u00b0\u00a0(ideally 135\u00b0) will lessen the chance of injury to your rotator cuff.<\/p>\n<p>Treatment for this condition is rest, ice, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory\u00a0drugs such as ibuprofen. If symptoms persist after 7 to 10 days of this\u00a0treatment, see your doctor. If symptoms resolve only to recur when you return\u00a0to play, it may be worth looking at you playing technique and seek coaching,\u00a0this may help to prevent recurrence.<\/p>\n<h5>Wrist Strains<\/h5>\n<p>Wrist strains seem to be related to the &#8220;laid-back&#8221; grip position: rotating the\u00a0palm upward and quickly turning your wrist over as you hit the ball in order to\u00a0achieve topspin. The best grip position for preventing wrist and elbow injuries\u00a0is the &#8220;hand-shake&#8221; grip, with the racquet making an &#8220;L&#8221; position with the\u00a0forearm.<\/p>\n<p>Once again best treatment is rest, ice and anti-inflammatory medications; get\u00a0coaching advice may also assist in reducing this injury reoccurring.<\/p>\n<h5>Back pain<\/h5>\n<p>Back pain seems to be related to an exaggerated arched, or swaybacked,\u00a0posture used for power production during service strokes. This exaggerated\u00a0position stresses the small joints and soft tissues of the spine. Older tennis\u00a0players seem to have the most back pain due to progressive stiffness and\u00a0degenerative disease, such as arthritis. Ask a sports physiotherapist about a\u00a0conditioning program designed to strengthen abdominal and back muscles\u00a0and to increase flexibility can minimise back pain associated with tennis.<\/p>\n<h5>Knee pain<\/h5>\n<p>The most common knee problem in tennis players is anterior (front) knee\u00a0pain. This is due to either chondromalacia (softening of the cartilage) of the\u00a0patella (knee cap) or tendinitis, especially at the patellar tendon. Elite and\u00a0highly ranked recreational tennis players seem to encounter these injuries\u00a0more frequently than others. This is thought to be related to the &#8220;spring-up&#8221;\u00a0action of the knees on the serve<\/p>\n<p>Treatment of acute anterior knee pain involves the usual RICE, but frequently\u00a0needs to be complemented with anti-inflammatory medications and a shortarc\u00a0knee-strengthening program to build up the innermost quadriceps muscle\u00a0in the thigh.<\/p>\n<h5>Calf and Achilles tendon injuries<\/h5>\n<p>The common underlying cause in both calf muscle and Achilles tendon\u00a0injuries is a tight calf muscle-Achilles tendon unit. This muscle-tendon unit\u00a0crosses both the knee and the ankle. You can tell your calf muscle-tendon\u00a0complex is tight if you cannot raise the ball of your foot higher than the heel of\u00a0that foot with the leg extended (straight). A sudden overload from pushing off\u00a0your foot while your leg is fully extended is the usual cause of injury.<\/p>\n<p>Achilles tendinitis involves inflammation of the Achilles tendon as a result of\u00a0overuse To treat Achilles tendinitis, decrease playing time, take anti inflammatories,\u00a0use heel lifts in your regular shoes, and diligently stretch the\u00a0calf muscles with your leg straight.<\/p>\n<p>A ruptured Achilles tendon is more severe than tendinitis. You may feel a\u00a0sudden snap in the lower leg, as if someone has kicked you in the back of the\u00a0foot. This is not a particularly painful injury, and a player may be lulled into\u00a0thinking that the injury is not as severe as it really is.<\/p>\n<p>After an Achilles tendon\u00a0rupture, a player will be able to walk flat-footed, but will not be able to stand\u00a0up on his or her toes on the affected side. Treatment can consist of casting or\u00a0surgery, but surgery is recommended for most Achilles tendon ruptures,\u00a0especially for athletes.<\/p>\n<p>With tennis leg (a tear of the calf muscle on the inside of the leg) you may feel\u00a0as if you have been shot in the upper calf by a pellet gun. This muscle tear\u00a0can be quite uncomfortable. It is important to stop playing immediately and\u00a0treat the calf muscle with RICE. This may take several weeks to resolve.<\/p>\n<h5>Ankle sprains<\/h5>\n<p>Sprains of the outer ligaments of the ankle are common in tennis. You can\u00a0minimise the risk by selecting shoes that are specifically designed for tennis\u00a0and that have substantial support built into the outer counter of the shoe.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0most effective treatment for ankle sprains is the usual RICE for 24 to 36\u00a0hours, then walking with an appropriate support on the ankle. If the swelling,\u00a0pain, and bruising are severe, see your doctor.<\/p>\n<p>Even after the most minor\u00a0sprain, some sort of stabilising ankle support is recommended during play for\u00a0up to 6 weeks.<\/p>\n<h5>Tennis toe<\/h5>\n<p>Tennis toe can occur as the toes are jammed against the toe-box (shoe toe\u00a0housing) of the shoe during tennis&#8217;s quick starts and stops.<\/p>\n<p>Tennis toe is a\u00a0haemorrhage under the toenail that can be quite painful. Your doctor will treat\u00a0this by drilling a hole in the toenail and relieving the pressure.<\/p>\n<p>Prevent tennis\u00a0toe by keeping your toenails cut short and wearing shoes that provide\u00a0adequate toe space.<\/p>\n<p><strong>References:<\/strong><br \/>\nDr. Nicholas E. Mihelic<br \/>\nScience &amp; Medicine<br \/>\nSports Medicine<br \/>\nPhysio Works<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Ross Smith (Paramedic, Australian First Aid) I am sure you are all aware that tennis is a complex physical sport requiring\u00a0hand-eye coordination and full body participation to run, position, swing, and\u00a0hit. Because of these demands, endurance, flexibility, and muscleconditioning\u00a0exercises are important to prevent injuries. Some tennis injuries\u00a0may be random occurrences (such as those that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5870,"featured_media":11110,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5870"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11108"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11108\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}