Athletes who practice racket or tennis, repeatedly accelerate and decelerate their shoulders with a wide range of movements in all axes of space, causing repeated micro trauma to the static and dynamic stabilizers of the glenohumeral and scapulothoracic joints.

Tennis is one of the most practiced sports worldwide and certainly causes different injuries in the human body. These injuries considerably affect the state of health and physical well-being and require intervention through sports physical therapy in Orlando to guarantee the total return of the athlete. 

Injury Assistant Network connects you with sports injury specialists in Florida so you can recover faster from your injuries and get back on track in the best possible shape.

Why Are Tennis Injuries So Common?

As mentioned above, tennis is undoubtedly one of the most popular sports among young and adult populations worldwide. It ranks 5th, being surpassed by soccer, basketball, volleyball, and swimming. Although it is not a contact sport, these people may suffer an endless number of injuries that can occur in any joint of the body.

Tennis is a sport that requires adequate equipment and technical mastery to reduce injuries significantly. However, it is common to find professional and amateur athletes starting the activity without doing a proper warm-up or not complying with muscle recovery times.

It is, therefore, necessary to understand a little about the sporting gesture and which joints are mainly involved during the practice, which can include the following:

Shoulder Joint Complex

The shoulder joint is important for daily activities and tennis movements like serving and racket handling.

Elbow Joint Complex

During tennis, the complex joints can perform important movements for achieving the backhand and driving. Injuries are common in this area.

Wrist Joint Complex

This complex is also essential for the drive and backhand actions, and passive stabilizers such as ligamentous tissues must participate.

Trunk and Hip Joints

These are particularly necessary to achieve balance and control during changes of direction that occur during sports movements, which generally involve rotational movements of the trunk and hip.

Ankle Joints

One of the most damaging is the great stabilizing demand required by the external ligaments and muscles that prevent the foot from twisting when making sudden changes of direction or zigzag movements.

As you can see, tennis is a sport that involves the use of practically the entire body, requiring a high functional demand that includes not only the movement of muscles as mobilizers and stabilizers along with ligaments but also requires a strong cardiac and energetic expenditure, which involves the cardiovascular and cardiorespiratory system to guarantee the arrival of oxygen to all the structures in use. That is why, to ensure the health of tennis players, especially those in high competition, it is crucial to have a sports health specialist and clinics such as sports physical therapy in Orlando to guarantee the optimal performance of athletes.

Common Injuries Suffered by Tennis Players

Now, it’s crucial to establish the concept of an injury. From the perspective of physiotherapy and rehabilitation, an injury is considered an alteration in the homeostasis of one of the body’s tissues. In other words, we are talking about a change at a morphological or structural level that takes place in one of the body’s tissues due to internal or external damage. This causes not only pain but also significant limitation and restriction, affecting the correct development of daily activities.

We are talking about a morphological change in the tissues due to internal or external damage due to trauma.

Therefore, based on the above, it is essential to be aware of all those injuries that can occur after playing tennis and that can significantly affect the health and physical well-being of the athlete.

 Sports physical therapy clinics in Orlando usually treat the following injuries:

• Tennis elbow or epicondylitis: This is one of the most common injuries resulting from playing tennis. It is caused mainly by inflammation of the extensor muscles of the wrist and hand. It usually manifests a characteristic clinical picture that includes pain situated at the level of the external side of the elbow. 
• Ankle sprains: Where a sprain is a partial strain or total tear of the collagen fibers of the ankle ligaments, mainly affecting the anterior talofibular ligament. It can also affect the posterior talofibular ligament and the calcaneus fibular ligament, causing a severe state of inflammation and edema located on the outer side of the ankle.
• Achilles tendonitis: Like tennis elbow, this condition involves inflammation of the muscle tendons, in this case, the Achilles tendon located at the heel. It is usually caused by overloading and is basically an inflammatory and painful process similar to epicondylitis. It usually occurs in middle-aged adults.
• Hamstring tear: The most common tennis injury is muscle overload, which can cause micro-tears or even a complete tear. This can lead to intense pain, difficulty moving the affected area, and inflammation with fluid retention due to high vascularization of the muscle tissue.
• SLAP or frozen shoulder: This condition affects the labrum that borders the glenohumeral joint of the shoulder. It causes micro-tears that can lead to instability and pain.
• Shoulder dislocation is defined as the loss of bone contact between the articular surfaces of the shoulder. It happens when the humeral head loses contact with the glenoid cavity of the scapula since the shoulder is known as the most unstable joint in the human body.

Physiotherapy Treatment for a Tennis Player in Competition

In a high-level tennis competition, all the teams travel with their medical team, consisting of a doctor and two physiotherapists. In the official Medical Services of the competition, they are given personal and material support. If a tennis player has any discomfort, they are taken care of and treated appropriately. In short, we help them, together with their team’s medical team, so that they are in the best condition to face each day.

The tennis players arrive at the sports physical therapy clinics in Orlando between four and five days before the competition begins to prepare for the matches. In the Medical Services, we have two physiotherapists on the days before and three on the days of the qualifiers.

What are the most common treatments?

On a training day, it is usual to work on mobility and do some work prior to the exercise on the court. If necessary, a bandage is applied to a specific area. After training, muscle-relieving massages are performed, and any discomfort is treated if necessary.

In competition, before a match, a mobility warm-up is performed on a stretcher, active work is done, and preventive bandages are applied. After the match, the treatments are more extensive to recover the muscle and relieve possible pain from the effort. During the match, ice packs and towels are prepared to alleviate the high temperatures.

Ultimately, it is about helping the tennis player to compete at the highest level.

In Conclusion

The demands of high-stakes tennis tournaments need a robust support system to keep players in peak condition. The specialized physiotherapy provided both before and during these intense competitions plays a crucial role in ensuring athletes can perform at their best. 

At Injury Assistance Network, we are aware of the unique challenges faced by competitive tennis players. Our dedicated team of physiotherapists is committed to delivering exceptional care and support, from pre-match preparations to post-match recovery. 

By partnering with us, athletes benefit from expert treatment designed to optimize their performance and help them stay ahead of the competition. For top-tier physiotherapy services that align with the demands of professional sports, trust Injury Assistance Network to be your go-to resource.