Injuries in Individual Sports- Tennis

Introduction

Sports injuries are body damages that occur during sports activities or exercises. The different types of injuries in sports are sprains, strains, knee injuries, tennis elbow, fractures, dislocations, rotator cuff injuries, and Achilles tendon ruptures (Heitz, 2018). Sports injuries mainly occur due to overuse, direct impact and excess pressure that body parts cannot withstand. Sports injuries are categorized as acute or chronic. Acute sports injuries happen suddenly and can be severe, while chronic injuries develop over time (AdventHealth, 2019). Acute injuries mainly result from sudden changes of direction, while chronic injuries are caused by repetitively overusing one part of the body.

Common Injuries in Tennis

The most common sports injuries in tennis are rotator cuff injuries, elbows, and sprains. Rotator cuff injuries The prevalence of tennis elbow injury is that half of tennis players suffer from it, which is painful. Sprains are common among tennis players and happen in the ankles and wrists.

Rotator cuff injuries

Rotator cuff injuries are the tear of muscles around the shoulder joint that support the upper arm and a part of the shoulders. In tennis players, these injuries are continuous overuse injuries that can be partial thickness, bursal-sided, or full-thickness tears (Alrabaa et al., 2020). Partial thickness and articular-sided tears are the most common, while full-thickness tears occur in older players. Tennis involves the movement of shoulders, exposing them to the risk of overuse and rotator cuff injuries. Rotator cuff injuries in tennis players using the overhead throwing technique occur as an adaptive response. This happens when the body tries to accommodate the extreme motion required in the sport. Tensile overload, internal impingement, and internal rotation deficit techniques overhead tennis players use cause rotator cuff injuries. According to Alrabaa et al. (2020), rotator cuff injuries in tennis players are between 1.5 and 2.9 per player per year. The injuries range from 0.04 to 0.3 per player in 1000h played. Overuse injuries in the shoulder contribute to 4-17 per cent of all tennis injuries incurred.

Tennis elbow

Tennis elbow, called lateral epicondylitis, is an overuse injury when the extensor tendon is overloaded. This injury happens when there is a repetitive strain due to wrist extension or loading grips repetitively. Tennis players using the backhand stroke technique are at more significant risk of elbow injury (Buchanan & Varacallo, 2019). This technique entails tightening the grip of playing equipment, which exerts a force on the wrist extensor muscles. Too small or too big racket grips can also increase the occurrence of tennis elbow. Tennis elbow is also caused by overusing the forearm with wrong wrist actions. Tennis players make up ten per cent of the patients suffering from the injury. According to Buchanan & Varacallo (2019), half of the population of tennis players experience pain in the elbow, and 75 per cent of the patients suffer from the natural tennis elbow.

Sprains

Sprained ankles are common injuries for tennis players. Sprained ankles occur when the ankles are twisted during sporting activities, and pain severity varies with the damage caused (Smith, 2016). Sprained ankles can be eversion or inversion. Inversion sprained ankles happen when the foot is twisted inwards, and ligaments are compressed inside. Eversion sprain ankles occur when the foot ankle rolls outwards, and the ligaments are torn. Tennis players are required to make rapid movements while striking balls. These sudden changes in movements and stopping repetitively are what cause strained ankles. Sprained ankles make ligaments weak, and the probability of the sprains reoccurring is high. Wrist sprains are also common in tennis players. They occur due to tear or stretching of the ligaments supporting the wrists or those around the wrist region (Smith, 2016). Tennis players often use their wrists to stroke, exposing them to a risk of wrist sprains. In tennis, improper positioning of feet can cause ankle sprains when the ankle becomes inverted while responding to sudden force. Ankle sprains are the most common sprain injuries in tennis, constituting 30 per cent of sprain injuries. Wrist sprains constitute 10 per cent of sprain injuries.

Conclusion

Rotator cuff injuries, the tennis elbow and sprains are common injuries among tennis players. Rotator cuff injuries are common because they are located around the shoulders. Tennis requires shoulder movement while stroking and playing during a match. Tennis elbow is experienced by half of tennis players, and it is expected due to hand movements while playing tennis. Ankle and wrist sprains are common in tennis due to the rapid foot and hand movements while participating in the sport. Tennis injuries can be prevented by using the proper playing equipment and staying in the right positions. Learning correct movements in tennis can also reduce injuries. Sports injuries can also be prevented by having enough rest and seeing a physician if necessary. Icing and attending therapy can be used to treat severe sports injuries. Exercising before the beginning of the tennis match can also help in preventing sports injuries as it makes the body flexible.

References

AdventHealth. (2019). Acute and Chronic Sports Injuries — What is the Difference? AdventHealth. https://www.adventhealth.com/hospital/adventhealth-orlando/blog/acute-and-chronic-sports-injuries-whats-difference

Alrabaa, R. G., Lobao, M. H., & Levine, W. N. (2020). Rotator cuff injuries in tennis players. Current reviews in musculoskeletal medicine, 13, 734-747.

Buchanan, B. K., & Varacallo, M. (2019, January 20). Tennis Elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis). Nih.gov; StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK431092/

Heitz, D. (2018). Everything You Need to Know About Sports Injuries and Rehab. Healthline; Healthline Media. https://www.healthline.com/health/sports-injuries#types

Smith, R. (2016). Common Tennis Injuries – Monthly First Aid Tip. Tennis SA. https://www.tennis.com.au/sa/news/2016/09/07/common-tennis-injuries-monthly-first-aid-tip#:~:text=Most%20Common%20Injuries%20associated%20with