Injuries piling up and getting worse......

[topsltennis]

After 2 + years of overplaying and playing through several overuse injuries it is starting to catch up with me. I've played through some pretty bad tendonitis in my wrist and have ongoing problems in both knees (jumpers knee), and turf toe. However, about 2 or 3 months ago I got diagnosed with a hernia. It is on my right side- saw a surgeon who at that time said it didn't need to be operated on yet, but let him know if it gets worse. Well, it has and now I have pretty bad pain on BOTH sides. I couldn't hit yesterday due to rain so went to the fitness center which I never do. I did 2 miles on the treadmill and the first half mile was really hard due to the pain. Like all my injuries, once the body gets warmed up the pain subsides a bit. Anyway; my stubborness may eventually get the best of me.

 

[ananda]

why not take a rest for a while and start slowly again when healed.
or else take a week off, and then play within pain, slowly building up - first 15 mins a day for a week, then 30, then 45.
always keep within pain.

 

[topsltennis]

Of course, that would be logical- it's just a bit addictive for me- I have lessons scheduled 7 days a week which isn't that demanding, but I always squeeze in a 45 minute- 1 hr. hit on top of that.

 

[courtrage]

for the tendonitis issues check out this book on CD "healing back pain"...or any of the Dr Sarno's books. says those pains are caused by decreased blood flow to those areas which is why you hear all kinds of people on these boards say "my plantar facitis hurts like hell when i wake up but after i walk around and get circulation the pain stops".... i had jumpers knee, achilles tendonitis, back pain, and plantar fascitis all in the last couple years and now are gone. when i was in high school i had tennis elbow and shoulder pain but those didnt show up again over the years...

for the hernia, stick with what your doc says...thats some serious sounding stuff...good luck...

 

[Loco4Tennis]

why not take a rest for a while and start slowly again when healed.
or else take a week off, and then play within pain, slowly building up - first 15 mins a day for a week, then 30, then 45.
always keep within pain.

i hate to say it too, but time off will be your best bet at this point, IMO
just hang-em up for a couple of weeks and see then, its a good bet something is going to feel better afterwards

 

[topsltennis]

The abdominal pains are definitley tough to deal with- I actually wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble changing positions. My court coverage is probably 50% right now- moving laterally is tough.

 

[anachronism]

I agree with everyone in this threat: take a break, and allow your body to heal. Several years ago I was going through something similar with my shoulder. I just had chronic shoulder pain from a variety different reasons. Only thing that fixed it was taking a year off, and perfecting my technique. I'm back playing again, and my shoulder feels great AND I'm hitting even harder that I was before. There's no need to damage yourself til the point of no return...

 

[goober]

Of course, that would be logical- it's just a bit addictive for me- I have lessons scheduled 7 days a week which isn't that demanding, but I always squeeze in a 45 minute- 1 hr. hit on top of that.

Your body is telling you to take a rest. Stop tennis and spend the time doing yoga or some light cardio.

Stop your hitting sessions on top of that or at most limit it to once a week. No tourneys, leagues or anything for at least 3 months.

When you are teaching can you feed with your other hand or maybe use a ball machine?

 

[Trinity TC]

Anyway; my stubborness may eventually get the best of me.

...if chronic and maybe permanent injuries don't get the best of you first.

 

[Uthree]

Your body is telling you to take a rest. Stop tennis and spend the time doing yoga or some light cardio.

Stop your hitting sessions on top of that or at most limit it to once a week. No tourneys, leagues or anything for at least 3 months.

When you are teaching can you feed with your other hand or maybe use a ball machine?

Rest and yoga are great. In the meantime reassess your shots technically.

 

[topsltennis]

My technique is flawless!!

Well, maybe not; but I don't think that's the issue. None of my problems would be associated with bad technique- other than perhaps the occasional flare up in the wrist - hernia, jumpers knee, turf toe all are overuse injuries which I also attribute to the wrist. However, I do use a pretty exaggerated "windshield wiper" motion on the forehand which could be considered a technique issue I guess.

 

[tbini87]

you remind me of... me! haha. i am the same exact way. i am left handed and have had surgery on 3 fingers on my left hand (2 of which now have arthritis!), a bad left wrist, buldging disc in my back... on and on and on. but i have grown up playing through pain and never slowing down, which has caught up to me, but it is part of my nature! so i can't just sit around and "rest". not to mention that "resting" never did much for my back, or my fingers so i don't put much faith in resting. but if your injuries are clearly "overuse" injuries, then you should definitely cut back on your playing time and try to recover.

 

[topsltennis]

tbini- just curious as to your age. I'm 38 now which seems to be around the time things start happening injury wise.

 

[Phil]

My technique is flawless!!

Okay, so now that that's out of the way as a possible cause of your many injuries, why don't we examine the possibility that you lack common sense and are just plain stupid.

Hey, you gotta admit, it is a possibility.

 

[superman1]

Okay, so now that that's out of the way as a possible cause of your many injuries, why don't we examine the possibility that you lack common sense and are just plain stupid.

Hey, you gotta admit, it is a possibility.

It's like banging your head against the table 24/7 and wondering why you get headaches.

 

[topsltennis]

Yea, well, I know my insistance on hitting everyday is the problem- I've never denied that. It's just that the most recent issue- the hernia may be one that I can't keep playing through.

 

[Marius_Hancu]

You may want to consider the stationary bike vs. the treadmill in your condition.

Less up and down bumping, which isn't good for your spine.

Also, go into swimming.

 

[topsltennis]

Thanks for all the replies. I guess more than anything, this is a good thread/advice to show what can happen if you don't take time to let your body heal. I went for a run last night (rain again here, so no tennis) and it was ridiculous. Both knees hurt like hell on every step, and I could feel the strain in the abdomen. I was practically having to drag myself to get through it.

I posted all this just to be informative to others; it's obvious that I have over extended myself at this point.

 

[Ronaldo]

You may want to consider the stationary bike vs. the treadmill in your condition.

Less up and down bumping, which isn't good for your spine.

Also, go into swimming.

Marius, had this in another thread but any thoughts on rollerblading as an exercise. Know several tennis players that train using blades before the winter cross-country season.