Sore shoulder

[MikeHitsHard93]

Played twice recently for the first time in months, and after both sessions my shoulder is sore. I didn't hit any serves, just groundies and volleys. I try to put my whole body into it, and my whole body does hurt. But my shoulder shouldn't be.

[MikeHitsHard93]

Oops wrong section lol

[Say Chi Sin Lo]

Mike is obviously not ready to hit hard.

[MikeHitsHard93]

Originally Posted by Say Chi Sin Lo

Mike is obviously not ready to hit hard.

Hahaha I guess not...summer can't come soon enough...

You think it's just because I'm not used to it now?

[Say Chi Sin Lo]

Originally Posted by MikeHitsHard93

Hahaha I guess not...summer can't come soon enough...

You think it's just because I'm not used to it now?

That's a possible factor (a big one too). If your body isn't quite used to utilizing a particular muscle group, or to reach a particular output. It'll react in the form of being sore. Be glad they don't ache.

For example, you can be the strongest guy possible, but if aren't used to hitting kick serves after kick serves. Your shoulder will be sore because your rotator cuff isn't used to put up with that kind of torque/stress necessary to hit a kick serve.

[10s talk]

93 ? what do you expect, you should be playing wheel chair tennis

[SystemicAnomaly]

Polyester strings? Cold weather? Lack of a proper warm up? Muscling the ball in an effort to hit hard? I suspect that you've altered your mechanics in your quest to hit the ball harder or with more spin.

[charliefedererer]

Bashing a tennis ball often leads to muscle imbalances - the bashing muscles that push forward get stronger and stronger with the bashing, while the "stopping muscles" don't.

The resultant "muscle imbalance" means laxity at the shoulder joint - and hence undue stress on non-elastic tendons and ligaments, resulting in sorenss.


You may want to consider keeping the muscles around your shoulder, elbow and wrist in great shape by doing the Thrower's Ten Exercises: http://www.muhlenberg.edu/pdf/main/a...throwers10.pdf



Also problems in technique could have crept into your serve during your period of limited play.

The two most common problems in technique involve a failure to "aim the chest up at the ball" and a failure to have great vertical shoulder-over-shoulder action - "You've got to drop the left shoulder".

These two problems are addressed in the following videos:

Your serve technique doing more harm than good? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgdXawklcZk

Preventing Rotator Cuff Injury http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTRvxaBMh8s

[BaboFan]

Could be your strings, racquet, etc. Muscling the ball

[MikeHitsHard93]

I think the most prevalent thing is me trying to muscle the ball. Since my pro opens are so light, they don't have the plow through power required to just perform the stroke effortlessly. I feel like i have to muscle the ball, it seems.

I stretched beforehand so I really don't think that's why. I also didn't hit any serves. Pretty much only ground strokes.

Current strings are psgd @54

Thanks all for the responses thus far!

[SystemicAnomaly]

^ Actually static stretching prior to tennis is NOT a good idea. That is not what I meant by a proper warmup. You want a dynamic warmup when you get to the courts. That can include an easy jog or jumping jacks, dynamic stretching, shadow swings, etc. Do the static stretches at home (earlier) or after your tennis session.

[LeeD]

Say you're a basketball player. Don't play for two months, then play pickup full court. What happens to your body? You get sore. Shoulder's, thighs, calves, lower back.
Same with tennis.

[cltennis21]

I've had similar problems... just to re mention the icing daily, no serves, and softer/looser strings are a must for a week or two depending on severity. If you like anti-inflamitories then go for it to reduce some inflammation. But to the main point, after that week or two of rest i rotator cuff workouts extremely helped as well as a little looser more relaxed swing. I used resistance bands and there are plenty on the web.

[MikeHitsHard93]

Originally Posted by SystemicAnomaly

^ Actually static stretching prior to tennis is NOT a good idea. That is not what I meant by a proper warmup. You want a dynamic warmup when you get to the courts. That can include an easy jog or jumping jacks, dynamic stretching, shadow swings, etc. Do the static stretches at home (earlier) or after your tennis session.

Well I think leg stretches are probably good, but I can see why arm stretches could be counter productive. My forearms tend to get really tense though so I periodically stretch them.

[SystemicAnomaly]

Originally Posted by MikeHitsHard93

Well I think leg stretches are probably good, but I can see why arm stretches could be counter productive. My forearms tend to get really tense though so I periodically stretch them.

Again, no. Studies over the past 2 decades or more have shown that static stretches do not prevent injuries and also temporarily reduce muscle performance. Both muscle strength and muscle speed can experience some reduction for 30-60 minutes or more. You can deal with your tension with dynamic stretching instead. We've had numerous discussions in this forum on this subject in the past 5 years or more.

Do you static stretches at home, before heading out to the courts. And again, afterward.

[charliefedererer]

Listen to SA!

First warm up the body with movement.

Then if there still is an area like your shoulder that still feels stiff, warm that area up with movement - moving/swinging your arm first without your racquet, and then with your racquet.

Here's two articles from the USTA Sports Science section:
Strength & Conditioning: Dynamic Warm-up and Flexibility Training: //www.usta.com/Improve-Your-Game/Sport-Science/114698_Strength__Conditioning_Dynamic_Warmup_and_F lexibility_Training/
Dynamic Warm-Up http://www.usta.com/Improve-Your-Gam...ynamic_WarmUp/

[mikeespinmusic]

Could be an imbalance, could be that your racquet could use more weight to it with lead tape. If you're in a car crash what would you rather be in? A mini, or a tow truck. You'll feel the effects more in the lighter mini.

Lead up your racquet boy.

[mikeespinmusic]

Actually that's pretty irresponsible of me to say to just lead it up when you probably have never done it yet... check out these links they will help you figure out what you want to do. You won't need to add too much just yet.

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=309803

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/lc/customize.html