Index finger sprain

movdqa

Talk Tennis Guru
I had a freak accident where I hit a backhand and my grip was loose and the impact knocked the racquet out of my hand and I tried to catch it and it hit my index finger the wrong way and I had to stop.

I rested it for six weeks and tried to hit and was only able for about ten minutes and the finger was buzzy. I waited another two weeks and had no problems hitting backhands and I could hit low forehands with a lot of pace but not high forehands. My guess is some kind of damage or sprain on one of the knuckles.

I did consider learning to play left-handed but that would require hitting backhands on the right side which isn't optimal.

I'm going to try hitting for 30 minutes this week. It seems like things have mostly healed and I need to work it more to make progress.

This was quite the freak accident and will just have to be better about holding the racquet more firmly before contact.
 

onehandbh

G.O.A.T.
I had a freak accident where I hit a backhand and my grip was loose and the impact knocked the racquet out of my hand and I tried to catch it and it hit my index finger the wrong way and I had to stop.

I rested it for six weeks and tried to hit and was only able for about ten minutes and the finger was buzzy. I waited another two weeks and had no problems hitting backhands and I could hit low forehands with a lot of pace but not high forehands. My guess is some kind of damage or sprain on one of the knuckles.

I did consider learning to play left-handed but that would require hitting backhands on the right side which isn't optimal.

I'm going to try hitting for 30 minutes this week. It seems like things have mostly healed and I need to work it more to make progress.

This was quite the freak accident and will just have to be better about holding the racquet more firmly before contact.
Back when I used to occasionally sprain my fingers (from basketball), I would use some white fabric athletic tape to tape the injured finger together with the next closest (non-thumb) finger. This seemed to help stabilize the finger and allow me to keep playing with less pain.
 

movdqa

Talk Tennis Guru
Back when I used to occasionally sprain my fingers (from basketball), I would use some white fabric athletic tape to tape the injured finger together with the next closest (non-thumb) finger. This seemed to help stabilize the finger and allow me to keep playing with less pain.

I did this for a while using Hypa-Fix tape (wound and ostomy tape which I have a lot of). It helped a little but the problem was more lateral finger movement than up and down. The best solution is a splint to immobilize it but then I couldn't function during the day.
 

movdqa

Talk Tennis Guru
I was able to hit at full power yesterday without thinking about the finger. I will progress to volleys and serves if things continue to go well. I thought that I might have to learn to play left-handed a few weeks ago.
 

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
I was able to hit at full power yesterday without thinking about the finger. I will progress to volleys and serves if things continue to go well. I thought that I might have to learn to play left-handed a few weeks ago.
Did you try mastering any lefty strokes? Learning tasks with non-dominant appendages is great for cognitive development -- it's supposed to create new neural connections, I believe.

It also provides you with new insights on muscle recruitment and stroke mechanics. I learned quite a bit about generating spin and also reeducated my feet. Some footwork patterns might feel a bit strange at first (even moreso in badminton than tennis).
 

movdqa

Talk Tennis Guru
Did you try mastering any lefty strokes? Learning tasks with non-dominant appendages is great for cognitive development -- it's supposed to create new neural connections, I believe.

It also provides you with new insights on muscle recruitment and stroke mechanics. I learned quite a bit about generating spin and also reeducated my feet. Some footwork patterns might feel a bit strange at first (even moreso in badminton than tennis).

I tried for ten minutes.

My hitting partner has full strokes on both sides. It took 10 years of effort.
 

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
I tried for ten minutes.

My hitting partner has full strokes on both sides. It took 10 years of effort.
It took me only a few weeks with hitting serves, volleys & Fh g'strokes with my non-dominant right arm. But I never felt comfortable hitting Bh g'strokes. The serve was not that hard for me since I naturally throw right-handed (while the left is my preferred side for most other tasks).
 

movdqa

Talk Tennis Guru
It took me only a few weeks with hitting serves, volleys & Fh g'strokes with my non-dominant right arm. But I never felt comfortable hitting Bh g'strokes. The serve was no that hard for me cuz I naturally throw right-handed (while the left is my preferred side for most other tasks).

The main thing that I wanted lefty was the backhand as the righty forehand was painful. Learning a lefty forehand wouldn't have been that difficult but a lefty one-handed backhand would have required a lot of time and effort to learn.
 

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
The main thing that I wanted lefty was the backhand as the righty forehand was painful. Learning a lefty forehand wouldn't have been that difficult but a lefty one-handed backhand would have required a lot of time and effort to learn.
I got to the point where I could demonstrate very decent right-handed Bh shadow swings for students but was not all that good with an actual ball. With a ball, the 2-hander was almost passable but my 1-hander on that side was something I never felt comfortable with. I suppose if I put in months of work on it, it might have been ok
 

travlerajm

Talk Tennis Guru
If the lefty thing is too hard, I know someone who lost his thumb in a power tool accident and was able to play decent tennis after his thumb was removed.

He prefers small grip size.
 
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