Help with shoulder problems

[CollegePl]

I am a college player and I have to play all the time, I know the best thing is to rest it, but I just can't, I was wondering if a lighter racquet or a heavier racquet would help my shoulder. Right now I use the prince more precision which is 11.5 ounces, I really would like to use a heavier racquet but if it is the expense of my shoulder than I will not, any advice would really help me out of this predicament, thanks

[brijoel]

well considering that racquet is light and stiff, i hardly think it is helping your shoulder for one. a 12+ ounce racquet will also allow you to let the racquet put some of the heft into the serve rather than forcing you to swing harder.
my main concern would have more to do with your form rather than your racquet however. generally it is not the racquet's fault in cases such as the shoulder. its the player's body mechanics that are causing the pain. without actually seeing you play this is virtually impossible for any of us to really fix for you. my suggestion would be to go to the sports trainer at the college and talk to him/her about proper motion of the shoulder during a serve, to find out where the pain is specifically, and what treatment you can currently do to alleviate some of the discomfort till you have figured out how to correct your stroke mechanics so that you arent aggrivating the problem further. see the/a trainer as soon as possible, it is worth your time i assure you.

[Tim Tennis]

Brijoel gave some great advice. Since you can't rest it, you might try: 1) to really warm it up and stretch it out before you even get on the court. You might even put on some of that Blue Pain Relief or something like that. What the heck it seems to really help my knees. 2) Of course you can take an anti inflammatory but you don't want to mask the pain too much. Your body is trying to tell you something. 3) Since you play on the college level you must be very good. I don't know how big a part your serve plays in your game but if it seems to bother you more on your first serve then your second serve, you might try to compete with a high percent of second serves in and focus more on placement. Or you might take a little off your first serve and get a higher percentage in. 4) or as Brijoel said it is probably mechanics. You might try to increase your range of motion slightly so you can generate the racquet head speed you need without stressing any particular muscle group. Try to be very smooth in your motion, no hitches.

Good luck with your tennis.

You got to love the game.

[CollegePl]

I really appreciate the advice, the trainer said it was more overuse, my front muscles are stronger than my back muscles which pull my shoulder out of its socket when I reach above my head, I was also wondering, is their any racket that you would suggest using that could help my arm, so something super heavy

[brijoel]

collegepl, as ive already said, and the trainer apparently confirmed....it has nothing to do with your racquet. however, if you are looking to change simply because you want something heavier id be happy to suggest somethings, but before i do that, give us some idea about your game like what your style of play is, what head size you generally prefer, whether you want something stiff or flexible, more head light or closer to even balance, open or dense string pattern?

[dozu]

Thomas Enquist had shoulder injury and he had to alter his service motion.... I personally had to change the service motion due to bad shoulder.

Human shoulders are not designed to go over the top repetitively..... in baseball sidearm pitchers have the lease injuries..

imo the slice serve puts the least strain on the shoulder.

[zenmaster]

icy hot back patch!