Florida is the tennis capital of North America and Vero Beach is right in the heart of it all. Of all the sports injuries seen in clinics the most common are related to tennis.
Did you know that 53% of amateur tennis players and 30% of professionals will play with an injured back this year? Tennis injuries can result from a combination of poor posture, lack of muscle flexibility and co-ordination and incorrect training regimens.
The most common tennis injuries occur in the lower back, knees, ankles, shoulders, elbows, hands and wrists (is there anything left?).
The top ten tennis related injuries are;
- Tennis Elbow and Golfer’s Elbow
- Rotator Cuff Tendinopathies (pathology of the tendon)
- Patellar Tendinopathies
- Achilles Tendinopathies
- Stress Fractures
- Torn Cartilage
- Dislocations / Separations(often the shoulder)
- Sprains– (Torn ligaments)
- Achilles Tendon Rupture
- Strains– (Torn tendons)
Tennis injuries are generally defined as either cumulative (overuse) or acute (traumatic) injuries. The impact and stress of the repetitive motions both upper and lower body are sometimes hard on the muscles and joints, especially if you ignore the early warning signs of an injury such as; joint pain, tenderness, swelling, reduced range of motion, comparative weakness, numbness and tingling.
Of the top ten injuries that can occur when playing tennis, Acupuncture treats nine directly and very successfully. The fifth (stress fracture) can be treated indirectly by decreasing pain and healing time.
Acupuncture improves flexibility, circulation, balance & coordination which will help keep you injury free and helps reduce down time after any injury.
Acupuncture is safe, effective and works quickly. Most of the athletes I treat say that acupuncture also has the added benefit of helping to get them into that zone of mental clarity and relaxation that is so important to their game.
Whether you want to tune up your back, tune up your game or both, Acupuncture can help you arrive on the court pain free and playing like a pro.
Yours in good health,
Robert Kienitz, DTCM