It’s easy to understand why tennis is one of the most popular sports in the world. After all, you can play with minimal equipment and just one other person, and it’s a fun way to stay active, get outside and spend time with people you care about.
Like any sport, playing tennis can also put you at risk for a variety of injuries. This doesn’t necessarily mean you shouldn’t play — after all, there are many health benefits to the sport — but it does mean you should be aware of the risks and pay attention anytime you start feeling pain.
A Chiropractor Can Help You Find Relief and Get Back on the Court Faster
Many tennis injuries are mild, but the only way to know for sure is to get diagnosed by a medical professional. By visiting an experienced Pembroke Pines chiropractor, you can find faster pain relief, learn how to avoid future injury, and get your injuries treated without the use of medication.
In particular, here are five tennis injuries we see at Rush Chiropractic.
5 Common Tennis Injuries and How to Treat Them
1. Tennis Elbow
Tennis elbow, or epicondylitis, usually happens because of a repetitive motion, like swinging a tennis racket over and over again. This motion can cause tiny tears to form in the tendons that attach to the wrist and elbow.
Tennis elbow can start all at once, or it can present as a mild pain that worsens over time. It may feel like a burning sensation in your elbow or wrist, pain when moving your arm, a swollen elbow, and even sometimes a difficulty gripping things with your hands.
Even if your tennis elbow seems mild at first, it’s important to remember that tennis elbow tends to get worse over time, especially if you keep playing the sport. The sooner you can get help from a chiropractor, the better.
2. Jumper’s Knee
Tendonitis can affect any tendon in the body, especially around the major joints. Though tennis elbow is the most well-known, many tennis players also experience “jumper’s knee” or tendonitis around the knee.
This condition, called patellar tendonitis, is often caused by the stress your knee absorbs from jumping, running to hit a ball, and pivoting quickly. Just like tennis elbow, it may start suddenly or over time, and it will usually get worse if left untreated.
Jumper’s knee typically starts with pain in the lower part of your kneecap and into your shinbone. You may also notice swelling in your knee, pain when you bend your leg, and soreness behind your knee.
3. Rotator Cuff Strains and Tears
If you’re experiencing shoulder pain during or after or a tennis match, a rotator cuff injury could be the cause. The rotator cuff is the group of muscles and tendons that keep the shoulder in place, and it can be damaged by repetitive, overhead motion, like reaching to hit a ball that’s flying past you.
Rotator cuff injuries can range from mild strains to muscle and tendon tears, and they often have similar symptoms to other conditions like tendonitis. The best way to make sure you’re getting the correct diagnosis and treatment is by visiting a chiropractor, who’s more knowledgeable about these injuries than your typical primary care doctor.
4. Achilles Injuries
The Achilles — which connects your calf muscle to your heel — is another tendon that’s often injured while playing tennis. Achilles injuries can happen because of wear and tear, but they may also occur during a fall, a collision with another player, or a match where you forget to stretch before you start playing.
In the most severe cases, the Achilles can tear, causing calf pain, swelling, and stiffness in the lower leg and heel. Other Achilles injuries — like strains and mild tendonitis — are far less serious, but a chiropractor can still help you find pain relief, prevent future re-injury, and get back on the court as quickly as possible.
5. Sciatica
Sciatica is one of the most common types of back pain for tennis players, as it can be triggered by repeated trunk rotations, such as turning to hit a ball. This pain radiates from the injured spot down into the leg, and it can cause numbness, tingling, or burning.
Even if your sciatica is bearable, you should still visit a chiropractor to make sure there isn’t a more serious root cause to your pain. Often, sciatica can be an indicator of other, more serious conditions, like a herniated disc or a pinched nerve.
Chiropractors have a wide variety of tools they can use to help you deal with sciatica, from massage to spinal manipulation to electrical muscle stimulation.
Listen to Your Pain and Take Action
Many of us tend to brush off pain as a mild irritation or just another symptom of aging. But most of the time, your pain is trying to tell you something about an issue that needs your attention. Don’t suffer in silence because you don’t think your pain is “too serious.” By visiting a Pembroke Pines chiropractor as soon as you start experiencing pain, you can find relief faster and keep playing the sport you enjoy. Many tennis injuries get worse over time, so the sooner you receive treatment from a chiropractor, the better your outcomes might be.
Give Dr. Rush a call today at 954-432-5006 to find out how he can help you heal your tennis injury.
Dr. Rush is a 1994 graduate of the University of Florida where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Exercise Sports Science and Wellness.
Dr. Rush earned his Doctor of Chiropractic Degree at Life University in 2000 where he was honored with magna cum laude. Dr. Rush was born and raised in South Florida where he returned after graduation. He currently practices in Pembroke Pines where he owns and operates Rush Chiropractic and Rehab.
