Wimbledon season is finally here!
Whether you an avid player of tennis yourself, or prefer to watch it from Murray Mound with Pimms and strawberries, none of us can say we don’t fall deep into the tennis love affair. Last year Wimbledon attracted 484,391 people to the grounds, with an even larger turnout expected this year.
The Serve
Top women athletes can serve up to 124MPH and the men have been known to clock up to an astonishing 140MPH – the Ferrari’s of the sporting world. It is therefore no real surprise that injuries often occur, especially in the upper limbs. Whether you are a top professional athlete or enjoy a leisurely Sunday doubles match with friends, injuries can occur from repetitive movements and muscular or postural imbalances.
Shoulder Injury
One of the common complaints with clients that we see at Kensington Physio Sports Medicine is shoulder pain. Shoulder Tendinopathy is an injury that can occur in all age groups. The shoulder has such a large range of movement, and it is extremely important to keep the stabilizing muscles strong, especially if you often have a tennis racket in your hand. The rotator cuff muscles are the main stabilizing muscles of the shoulder joint – home to four muscles – Suprapinatus, Infrapinatus, Teres Minor and Subscapularis.
Symptoms of Shoulder Tendonpathy can range from pain at night, pinching or catching pain when reaching forward and pain when serving during tennis. Make sure you seek help as soon as possible to prevent the injury becoming chronic. If left for too long and not treated professionally, shoulder pain can then be the cause of various neck problems. With plenty of exercises we can give you to practice at home, shoulder issues will be a thing of the past with treatment and prevention methods.
For more information on the importance of physio for treating not only shoulder injuries but other common tennis injuries, please read the linked article from the CSP.