Tennis injuries: a usual problem

Listen this article

 

Some argue to the hard calendar, others to the type of training. The truth is that playing tennis is affecting most of the main players

The four members of the now extinct 'Big Four' have suffered injuries because of the sport.

First Roger Roger had an injury on the knee and then on his right hand. Historically, Rafael Nadal has fought multiple injuries to his right ankle. Also Novak Djokovic had to go through the operating room to treat his right elbow. Finally, Andy Murray had to undergo surgery of the hip, but even so, it did not resist and he ended up announcing his retirement for this year in the middle of the Australian Open 2019.

Leer en español: Lesiones en el tenis: un problema común

Faced with this disheartening scenario, and leaving out another great tennis player like the Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka , who missed almost the entire 2018 calendar due to a knee problem, LatinAmerican Post reviews the reasons why there are so many injuries in the times modern tennis, and what are the recommendations to follow, among other details.

For ElDia.com, tennis has more and more influence on television and sponsors, which in turn is the main economic source for organizers, which is why today we can see in the Australian Open, with matches of more than three hours of duration and under almost 40 degrees of temperature.

Courts with characteristics such as those in Melbourne are the most draining, due to the way the ball hits and the speed with which it must be played. In addition to that, these courts occupy more than 56% of the annual calendar of the ATP, including two Grand Slams and six Masters 1000, which by the way are played regularly in summer or spring (with higher temperatures) and little rest. A lethal 'cocktail' that generates physical discomfort and injuries.

In that sense, the International Tennis Federation (FIT) has raised, for example, faster matches, but the idea arises based on making business and entertainment prevail than in protecting players. There is a theory that very long matches are not favorable for television, culminates El Dia.

You may be interested in reading: Tennis: is there going to be a great comeback in this season?

Nadal 'set the alarm'

The Spanish tennis player complained when he was number 1 of the ATP in 2018. As Colombia reflects that Nadal, after being eliminated by abandonment in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open that year, declared in a press conference: "I began to feel tired and that left me disabled and with my leg totally blocked, I didn't want to retire and I took anti-inflammatories to see if it improved and the pain disappeared, it's a pain I had never felt before", he explained.

It was the third time that Manacor was injured in Australia, in 2010 retired in the quarterfinals against Murray due to the right knee and in 2014 played with problems in the back the final against Wawrinka, so his reflection on the situation was direct "I think that the people who run the tennis world should consider why there are so many injuries and so continuously, it is not the first time it happens and the list is long, if each time you play faster, you hit the ball harder and on such hard surfaces, because you have to see why so many misfortunes happen, "he said.

What are the most common injuries?

In this sport, bruises or injuries are not produced by contact with other people or players, but by strong training or intense movements, according to Decoasports.

The elbow: Its medical name is epicondylitis and affects the radial ones that are located on the outside of the elbow. This is caused by microtrauma when the player hits the ball with the racket, due to frequent use, tension in the arm and rigidity of the strings.

The shoulder: The most common are contusions or injuries caused directly in the rotator cuffs, a set of muscles that are responsible for mobility and rotation of the arms. These muscles can be injured by some sudden movement.

Meniscus: There are blows that can cause suffering in the knee, especially in areas that block the ankle, which can allow a rotation of the tibia with respect to the femur.

Ankle sprain: A bad move can cause a fracture or ankle sprain because the characteristic of this sport makes it work and suffer much external lateral ligament of the foot. Another one that frequently occurs is teloinitis, which refers to numbness or lameness that takes time to disappear.

Muscular tears could not be absent , due to lack of heating or bad heating, and the fracture of stress, which is explained as tiredness of the muscles, which puts stress on the bone and this in turn reacts with fissures, generating a lot of pain .

Medical opinion

Punto de Break rescues the most important part of a conversation he held with Salvador Martín, a physiotherapist who has worked with tennis players such as Ernest Gulbis, Radek Stepanek, and Dominic Thiem in preseason. In women, she has worked with the Czech Karolina Pliskova.

"The vast majority of injuries are located in the upper limbs, especially in the shoulder. There are also injuries in the lumbar area and in the hip due to compensations and weakness in the pelvic muscles ".

Martin added that many of these tennis players have stretching and strengthening routines, which are not the most appropriate. "It is important to know the correct exercise for each person. I recommend mobility, stretching, eccentric work, hydrotherapy, and Medestec. "

The Republic spoke with Jez Green, who was a physiotherapist for Andy Murray, who now works with Alexander Zverev, and who pointed out that "the human body is made to run in a straight line at high speeds, but not laterally during three hours or more, supporting the weight from one side to the other, and changing rhythm violently ".

"The ligaments are badly damaged. The same is true for the shoulders and wrists, which have to dampen services to over 200 km/h with effect", said Green.

LatinAmerican Post | Onofre Zambrano

Translated from "Lesiones en el tenis: un problema común"