Playing through pain

jcgatennismom

Hall of Fame
What have you used when you had an important match and had to play through pain-advil, topical muscle creams? My son has some important matches coming up-both state playoffs and a tournament. He does not want to pull out as he already pulled out of one big tourney last weekend. He was actually in the hospital last week (got out last Friday) with an issue that was fixed with laproscopic surgery, and the doctor said he had no limitations. However, he has some residual pain from the initial inflammation. He will go to the chiro tonight and ask him for ideas. We do a mix of traditional and alternative meds. He didnt have stitches so it's not like he could pull something loose.

He actually won the clinch point in a 3 setter for his team last night against the team they lost to in state finals last year; he has semifinals next week. He just placed his shots well so he did not have to run as much. He does not want to pull out of the tourney as he was looking good to play national hard courts again this year, but if he misses two tournaments in a row, he will drop and possibly miss his section's quota. There is only one more tourney in mid June that he could play that would have enough points to help. My husband watched him play last night and said he looked good.

I hope the pros at his academy will give him good advice about whether to play or stay home, and he will listen. If he isn't playing, he needs to let one college coach know. I think several planned to watch him this weekend, but only one was coming just to see him. He did not know until yesterday that coaches were coming. Coaches ask for players' schedules and you may not know which tourney they will visit. This is also the one tournament a year his grandparents come to watch as it is just an hour drive for them. I guess if he plays and hurts, I can pull him out after first match, and he can visit with family the rest of the weekend.
 
It really depends on whether or not you put yourself in the position to do additional damage to the injured body part. Also, your body WILL naturally compensate for the lack of stability/strength stemming from the injured body part and thus, that over-compensation will increase the chances of injuring other body parts. Which is also the reason why I hate wearing braces, immobilizing a joint means you're transferring the stress upward of the mechanical chain.

But back to your question, if I know for a fact that playing with the injury won't lead to more damage, and it's just a matter of pain tolerance, I'd say that's fine. Especially if the discomfort comes from muscle spasms and such. Or foot pains from wearing brand new shoes.

Stuff like tears, chronic inflammation. I'd say stop and let it heal.
 

movdqa

Talk Tennis Guru
It really depends on whether or not you put yourself in the position to do additional damage to the injured body part. Also, your body WILL naturally compensate for the lack of stability/strength stemming from the injured body part and thus, that over-compensation will increase the chances of injuring other body parts. Which is also the reason why I hate wearing braces, immobilizing a joint means you're transferring the stress upward of the mechanical chain.

But back to your question, if I know for a fact that playing with the injury won't lead to more damage, and it's just a matter of pain tolerance, I'd say that's fine. Especially if the discomfort comes from muscle spasms and such. Or foot pains from wearing brand new shoes.

Stuff like tears, chronic inflammation. I'd say stop and let it heal.

We've seen what chronic problems did to Nadal's career and he has the best in training and healthcare available.

Your body bounces back for some things and not for others. Playing while injured can knock you out for six months with some injuries.
 

jcgatennismom

Hall of Fame
What exactly is/was his injury/injuries?
He had to have laparoscopic surgery due to an issue with his pancreatic ducts. Now the problem is fixed, but he had pain from the initial inflammation. It ended up being a good decision to play this weekend as he played well when college coaches were watching. He did not play as well as tournaments earlier this spring, but he played well enough and won some tough 3 setters. He didnt have pain from playing, only if he ate the wrong things.
 
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