Injuries

Injuries are all too common in most sports and at some point every athlete, recreational or professional, will face some type of injury. This year, the Green Bay Packers had several marquee players who were injured and sidelined from playing in the Super Bowl, the pinnacle of any NFL player's career.  The NHL lost one of its best ambassadors, Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who suffered a severe concussion. NBA players Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs both suffered various degrees of sprained ankles, sidelining them for a period. Now to tennis - Justine Henin, 28, retired this February due to lingering elbow injuries, Mario Ancic, 26, retired this month due to back and knee problems, Juan Martin Del Potro had to take a 9 month break due to a wrist injury, Serena Williams has been out since early last July from a nasty lacerated foot and recently from a pulmonary embolism and hematoma. Honestly, the list of injuries in the tennis world is too long to list.

Common tennis injuries occur in your knees, lower back, wrists, forearms, elbows, shoulders, shins, and ankles - basically, the major muscle groups in the arms and legs. This has a lot to do with the type of surface that most tennis is played on, especially in San Diego, hard courts. Most injuries are overuse injuries; that is, doing too much of the same thing over and over again, possibly with the wrong technique.

With our busy schedules, it may often be difficult to consider cross-training with another sport. However, a short time in the gym doing focused exercises, will greatly improve your chances of remaining physically strong with less chance for injuries. Focus on your flexibility and strengthening your core, arms and legs. Proper stretching and warm-up should always be part of your routine. Also, yoga and Pilates have become a very popular way to promote developing a strong body for tennis.

Stay healthy!