Download Tennis Specific Physiotherapy

Tennis Specific Physiotherapy
Information Evening
Redland Bay Tennis Club
Presented by
Brien Seeney
My Experiences
• I have been involved with tennis in many
capacities including:
– Player
– Coach
– Physiotherapist
• Great benefit to all levels of player to
improve injury prevention/pain
management and therefore
PERFORMANCE
Tennis Injuries
• Repetitive nature of the tennis strokes along with
constant acceleration/deceleration/change of direction
leaves the body vulnerable to injury
• Occur to both professional and recreational players,
but can be prevented/rehabilitated that allows for pain
free tennis
Most Common Injuries
• Elbow
– Tennis/golfers elbow
• Wrist
– Carpal tunnel,
tendonitis
• Shoulder
– Rotator cuff tendonitis,
bursitis, frozen shoulder
Most Common Injuries cont’
• Lower back
– Sciatica, lumbar muscle strain,
bulging disc
• Knee and Ankle
– Lateral ankle sprain, plantar fasciitis,
Osgood Schlatter’s, patellar
tendonitis
Warm Up/Cool Down
• Injuries often caused by lack
of flexibility
• Proper warm up loosens
muscles/tendons to increase
movements in joints
• Increases blood flow which
means more oxygen to
muscles
• Out with the old (static), in
with the new (dynamic)
Ideal Warm Up/Cool Down
• Warm up
– 5-10 minutes of low intensity exercise (walking,
light running)
– Dynamic stretches
– On court warm up
• Cool Down
– 5 minutes low intensity exercise
– Static stretches
Training
• Off court training just as important
• Watch for muscle imbalances
• Don’t train through pain
•
Equipment
Racquet
– Weight: Heavier racquet absorbs a larger amount of shock, but can
tire the arm and lead to poor contact.
– Balance: More Head Heavy provides greater weight behind the ball
at contact, but creates more torque on the arm, especially on offcentre shots.
– Head Size: Larger Head Size provides more forgiveness and softer
feel, but can lead to loss of directional control.
– Length: Longer racquet leads to contact further from the body and
greater torque on the arm, especially on off-centre contact.
– Flex: Higher stiffness transmits shock with less dampening, placing
acute forces on the elbow, lower stiffness absorbs more shock, but
can transmit more vibration. (not vital factor)
– String tension: At a lower tension, strings will absorb more energy
resulting in less shock and vibration to your arm. However, the
lower the string tension, the less control you have when hitting.
• Shoes
— Stability on inside and outside of foot
— Plain runners/cross trainers can result in increased ankle
sprains
How can Physio help?
• Kinesio tape
• Soft tissue release
•
Dry
needling/
• Joint mobilisations
acupuncture
• Therapeutic and Real
• SFMA
Time Ultrasound
• Rehab exercise programs
Kinesio Tape
• Becoming increasingly popular
• Aims to improve circulation, pain,
muscle activation, positional
awareness and function
• Allows unrestricted movement
Benefits of Kinesio Taping
Increase Muscle
Activaiton
Lift fascia/tissue
above area of
pain
Management of
swelling/oedema
Assists/limits
movement
Positional
awareness
through skin
Dry Needling/Acupuncture
•
•
•
•
Trigger point release
Increases healing rate
Decreases inflammation
Very effective with neural conditions
Real Time Ultrasound
• Real time core/pelvic
floor retraining
• In the past very difficult
to effectively train
• Train core and pelvic
floor through different
stages to ensure
effective protection for
your back and hips
Selective Functional Movement
Assessment
Conclusion
• Tennis is an all round sport requiring speed,
agility, power, strength, flexibility and endurance
• As a result of this there can be a wide range of
injuries suffered
• Trying to play through pain isn’t just painful, it
affects PERFORMANCE
• Injury prevention is vital
• Invest in some lessons, many injuries preventable
with proper technique
• If pain persists contact appropriate health care
provider