The facts about overuse injuries and young tennis players
Alan L. Hammond, TennisMd News
Reviewed by the TennisMD Medical Review Board.
Aug 03, 2010
Junior tennis players and athletes of all types will always go hand-in-hand with injuries. Growing up and getting a scraped knee or two along the way is a fact of life.
Depending on what type of sport is being played, there are different types of associated injuries. One thing is certain; almost all high impact sport athletes, such as tennis players, get overuse injuries from time to time. Most people think that being young means there is no physical limitation to improvement; however, playing long and hard without proper rest, training, and diet, will eventually strain the body to its limit. The result of playing like “Superman” and “Superwoman” could be an overuse injury.
Because more and more children are actively involved in sports, overuse injuries are becoming increasingly common, having risen in the last decade, according to a recent publication in the Internet Journal of Medical Update. Researchers estimate that 30 to 50 percent of all pediatric sports injuries were caused by overuse.
Tennis is no exception. In fact, playing too much, too fast, too soon, (as most young athletes do), will eventually result in an overuse injury of some type. There are common and uncommon versions of these.
Some common overuse injuries are:
- Tennis Elbow – A very common cause of elbow pain due to the chronic irritation of the tendons on the outside of the elbow.
- Wrist Tendonitis – Caused by irritation and inflammation around the wrist joint.
- Shin Splints – This is a misnomer used to identify pain on the front of the tibia bone of the leg. Could be strained tendons, but stress fracture is more common.
- Heel Strain – Caused by inflammation where the Achilles' tendon attaches to the heel bone.
- Knee Strain or Bruising – Caused by abnormal tugging and pulling of the tendons behind and around the knee.
- Growth plate stress fractures of the humerus, a bone that makes up the shoulder joint.
There are various ways to get these injuries while playing tennis; finding ways to prevent them is the key. Making sure to have the right equipment is important. For example, playing with properly sized and gripped rackets, and using true tennis-shoes, not running shoes, and shoes with proper size and support, are critical factors. Always stretch before and after play; the body has too be warmed up and cooled down just like any other engine.
Taking these steps, along with eating healthy, exercising regularly, and getting the proper amount of “down time”, trainers and young players alike can do their parts to help lower the risk of overuse injuries.
Reference:
Overuse Injuries In Children And Adolescents, Singh, A., Srivastava, R., Internet Journal of Medical Update, Volume: 3(2), July-December 2008, 46-52.
Published courtesy of TennisMD