Coming Back From Injury

Tennis, like many sports, requires that you learn a skill (eg. forehand) properly and then you repeat, repeat, repeat until you are proficient and consistent. While this is the “nature of the beast” so to speak, it also sets many of us up for repetitive strain injuries (RSI’s).  RSI’s always feel like they happened over night when in fact they take a long time to develop.  Unfortunately, they can also take a long time to heal. Returning to your sport or activity should be done properly so that the injury is not re-aggravated, prolonged or permanent.

RSI’s can occur anywhere, but for racquet sports they usually occur either in the lower body (hips, knees or ankles) or in the upper torso (neck, shoulders). They can be muscular, neural or capsular in nature (or in combination). This means that there could be inflammation of a muscle, impingement of a nerve or a painful condition of the joint capsule itself. Regardless of the nature of the injury, return to play should be done under the advisement of your physician, physiotherapist or massage therapist.                                                                

While the psyche of most athletes wants to return to play at a similar level to when they left (pre-injury), the smart athlete takes a more cautious approach.

  • While injured, stay in shape doing what you can in a pain-free state (e.g. stationary bike, eye-hand co-ordination exercises etc.)
  • When returning to activity do so for small amounts of time for the first two weeks (e.g. 20-30 minutes of just hitting balls) and at a low-intensity level. DO NOT participate in structured play that creates pressure to perform at a level you shouldn’t.

  • Pay attention to your body! If it starts to hurt then discontinue play. Also, as pain is an excellent guide, coming back from an injury shouldn’t be done with Advil or Tylenol to fool the body’s natural warning mechanisms.

Activity and/or sport represents different things to different people and often the urge to return to what we love is very strong. Injuries can be seen as a setback or an opportunity. This can be your opportunity to come back with renewed commitment and strength. Keep your eye on the “big picture” and you’ll be back participating sooner than later.

 

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