The Missing Link In Tennis Injury Rehab
When I work with tennis players, I often find some common deficits across all of their physical therapy evaluations. Tennis injuries can be complex as the sport itself is complex, but I want to discuss these common findings I see in physical therapy for my tennis players and how they are the missing link.
When analyzing the tennis swing, to the common viewers it seems like a lot of shoulder and arm demand. This is also where a lot of pain presentations are in my experience. Tennis elbow, being a common diagnosis in repetitive activity demands, can occur because the load demand on the body exceeds the body’s tolerance. This is usually looked at as an arm problem, and this very much could be the case. But what if in a physical therapy evaluation the strength, motor control, and mobility deficits are absent in the arm? This is where the missing link comes into play!
Shoulder blade control and hip mobility/rotational control are where I make sure to spend time on my physical therapy evaluations for my tennis players if arm pain is being discussed. We see so much demand on the arm, but that might be because the other areas of stability and power creation are not optimally producing! The trail leg on a forehand or backhand produces so much power when swinging that if mobility is lacking or adequate force production is lacking, the arm will have to pick up the slack and increase its demand. This can lead to the load intolerance problem I was mentioning prior.
So what do we do about it? After proper assessment of shoulder blade control in both body weight and under load movements as well as hip mobility and strength testing, we can go after deficits specifically in physical therapy to address these issues. What I recommend off the top is to compare your hip mobility side to side and see if you move symmetrically or if there is an obvious difference. This is a great place to begin! Than build into strength work, starting with anything that is forcing your glutes to work to a moderate level of fatigue. This will start you on the right path :)
Want to dive deeper into how to best connect these missing links in tennis rehab and recovery from tennis injuries? Let’s chat! I would be happy to discuss further how Loon State Physical Therapy can be a teammate in getting you back to moving and feeling your best! We have two convenient Minneapolis physical therapy locations to best help you get out of pain. Call us at (612) 405-8503 or book with us online at www.loonstatephysicaltherapy.com for an in-person or virtual appointment.
Until next time!
Andrew Eccles
Owner and Physical Therapist at Loon State Physical Therapy
