Tennis is killing me! Help!

[DaveH]

I've participated in sports and weight lifting my entire life. I never had a sports related injury until I started playing tennis. This is really disturbing to me because I've always gone all out in other sports. I've been lifting weights since I was 16. In my teens and early 20's I lifted with incredible intensity. I played football in high school. I played basketball twice a week for years until I started playing tennis. I don't mean just shooting baskets either. I'm talking balls out full-court play. I've ridden my bike and roller bladed until I was ready to fall over. I really like to push myself. All of this and not one injury!

About a year ago, I got into tennis. I quickly became obsessed with the sport. I love it. The sad part is that now I'm a wreck. I've developed shoulder, back, and neck problems! I can no longer lift heavy weight or have intense workouts. As a result, my strength and muscle mass have gone down the tubes and now just getting out of bed hurts. I've had 2 pros examine my strokes, stance and footwork during play and they both said I'm doing everything right, as far as mechanics go. I just need to keep practicing.

Has anyone else gone through a similar experience? Any advice?

 

[artworks]

Please see your doctor.

 

[wyutani]

a head doctor

 

[chess9]

I came back to tennis 7 months ago after a very long layoff. My background was somewhat similar to yours, except the last 25 years I've been doing triathlons. I had zero injuries doing triathlons. In 7 months of tennis I've had 4 injuries. I blew out my right gastroc/soleus during a match, despite years of cycling.

Here's my take on all of this, which is not to be confused with a well-informed opinion. Injuries among even young tennis players are quite common, but as we age and our muscles and ligaments shorten we are even more susceptible to injury. Add the inevitable arthritis, traumatic injuries, lost disk (back) and miniscus (knee) padding, and you might begin to wonder how anyone over 30 gets out of bed, let alone plays a few sets of tennis.

My solution has been to keep more variety in my workouts. Lifting and swimming. Cycling and running. And rest when injured. You can often still train when injured. If you have tennis elbow, you can still cycle, or do footwork drills, or lift, etc. If you have a leg injury you can often stand at the baseline and hit easy balls against the ball machine to keep your "hand" in the game, so to speak. The key is to know when to rest and for how long. Most guys don't rest long enough.

These are nothing more than the views of a very old jock. They are probably worth what you paid for them.

Good luck!

-Robert

 

[Marius_Hancu]

What racquet, strings, tension?

FWIW
check my posting here:

Best arm friendly racquets?
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=77937

Also, check the Sticky (topmost thread here)

You're playing too much, and probably in a non-economical fashion, throwing too much your body around. If this continues, you should ask yourself if the tennis is worth your pains.

 

[armand]

I've participated in sports and weight lifting my entire life. I never had a sports related injury until I started playing tennis. This is really disturbing to me because I've always gone all out in other sports. I've been lifting weights since I was 16. In my teens and early 20's I lifted with incredible intensity. I played football in high school. I played basketball twice a week for years until I started playing tennis. I don't mean just shooting baskets either. I'm talking balls out full-court play. I've ridden my bike and roller bladed until I was ready to fall over. I really like to push myself. All of this and not one injury!

About a year ago, I got into tennis. I quickly became obsessed with the sport. I love it. The sad part is that now I'm a wreck. I've developed shoulder, back, and neck problems! I can no longer lift heavy weight or have intense workouts. As a result, my strength and muscle mass have gone down the tubes and now just getting out of bed hurts. I've had 2 pros examine my strokes, stance and footwork during play and they both said I'm doing everything right, as far as mechanics go. I just need to keep practicing.

Has anyone else gone through a similar experience? Any advice?

My coc k-eyed theory is that because tennis is less intense than basketball, your body is not as warm when playing it. A warm body is less prone to injury. No?

 

[ollinger]

Guess what? There's cumulative wear and tear on your body, most certainly not excluding joints and tendons. That you've gone full-bore your entire life only means your more likely to suffer wear and tear sooner than someone else. So it's time for a reality-check -- You're not a machine that can run indefinitely and have all its parts replaced. Some people don't run into such wear and tear problems, but most do. You need to think about doing less, not more, and play more doubles, for instance, and other activities that don't put as much stress on your body. Keep up your usual pace and you'll be having joint replacement surgery soon, taking a real bite out of what you can do.
________
DevilEyes

 

[chess9]

Guess what? There's cumulative wear and tear on your body, most certainly not excluding joints and tendons. That you've gone full-bore your entire life only means your more likely to suffer wear and tear sooner than someone else. So it's time for a reality-check -- You're not a machine that can run indefinitely and have all its parts replaced. Some people don't run into such wear and tear problems, but most do. You need to think about doing less, not more, and play more doubles, for instance, and other activities that don't put as much stress on your body. Keep up your usual pace and you'll be having joint replacement surgery soon, taking a real bite out of what you can do.

Amen to all of that. Also, as we age, we need more rest. I know from my triathlon training that the biggest enemy of triathletes is overtraining-doing too much. As a consequence, by the time you get to 60, if you are still doing triathlons, you have a decent shot at the podium for your age group because you've won the body lottery, so to speak. Training smartly is much more important for older athletes.

Something else. I hate to mention it in polite, possibly mixed, company, but getting fat is death to your joints. Don't do it. If you've put on a lot of weight and tried to keep up the intensity you've probably overstressed your body. Stay lean, stay strong, get regular coital sex, and don't overdo it.

-Robert

 

[DaveH]

wyutani, artworks - I'm stubborn as all hell when it comes to going to the doctor but it may just come to that.

chess9 - Maybe more of a variety would help me too. I've heard swimming is very therapeutic. I really like your advice about how to play injured. I know I need to rest more but I'm as antsy as an 8 year old boy. I absolutely hate sitting or laying around.

Marius_Hancu - Babolat pure drive team plus, wilson NXT tour 16 string (58 lbs.). Thanks for the link and yeah, I do put a lot of my body into strokes. Maybe I need to tone things down a bit (god, I hate saying that).

adely - you may have something there. When I play basketball, we don't stop for fouls (street ball). Unless someone gets elbowed in the face, it's pretty much nothing but sprinting up and down the court for 1-2 hours. It's waaaaay more intense than my tennis matches, so yes, my body is at a much higher temperature.

ollinger - You are probably right. I guess a human can only push at max intensity for so long before the body gives out. I just hate facing the fact that I'm not 18 any more. Inside I still feel 18. I'm just as energetic and adventurous as ever. I keep thinking that if I uncover some great combination of training, diet and supplementation, I can enjoy pushing myself 100% for another 10 or 20 years. I'm very competitive and determined. I hate not going all out when playing a sport. It means admitting that my body is breaking down, preparing for death... uh, what a miserable thought.

Thanks to all for the feedback!

 

[Marius_Hancu]

Babolat pure drive team plus, wilson NXT tour 16 string (58 lbs.). Thanks for the link and yeah, I do put a lot of my body into strokes. Maybe I need to tone things down a bit (god, I hate saying that).

The tension is OK, the NXT Tour is good.

The racquet is too stiff. Causes probs to many (but not all, of course). Also, being extra long, is counterindicated for those in which shoulder probs appear, such as yourself.

I suggest demoing some Volkls or PK, a bit heavier and less stiff, but head-light, in order to avoid load on the shoulder. Or Heads.

You must develop a more relaxed technique, or otherwise you're fighting with yourself.

 

[BabolatFan]

I've participated in sports and weight lifting my entire life. I never had a sports related injury until I started playing tennis. This is really disturbing to me because I've always gone all out in other sports. I've been lifting weights since I was 16. In my teens and early 20's I lifted with incredible intensity. I played football in high school. I played basketball twice a week for years until I started playing tennis. I don't mean just shooting baskets either. I'm talking balls out full-court play. I've ridden my bike and roller bladed until I was ready to fall over. I really like to push myself. All of this and not one injury!

About a year ago, I got into tennis. I quickly became obsessed with the sport. I love it. The sad part is that now I'm a wreck. I've developed shoulder, back, and neck problems! I can no longer lift heavy weight or have intense workouts. As a result, my strength and muscle mass have gone down the tubes and now just getting out of bed hurts. I've had 2 pros examine my strokes, stance and footwork during play and they both said I'm doing everything right, as far as mechanics go. I just need to keep practicing.

Has anyone else gone through a similar experience? Any advice?

Interesting. You sound like a very adventurous and athletic guy. Rollerblading and all. Since 2 pros already checked your mechanics, I can't step on their toes either. Actually it's not uncommon to see injuries like that. Touring pros develope all types of nagging injuries here and there too. Ok...are you seeing a physio therapist or a sports trainer now? According to what I've know from your post, one can overcome similar problems by doing strength training just for tennis...not that you're not active or can't lift weights. REsistance training is fantastic too, thus you're activating all of your muscle fibers and make them stronger. Do not overload yourself. Consult your certified athletic trainer, not your personal trainer. That's all.

 

[Rickson]

Tennis can be tough on the body and that's what makes it a great sport. Would you rather be bowling? Tennis, unlike bowling, takes an incredible amount of athleticism, not to mention excellent coordination and practice in developing great strokes. If your body is taking a beating from tennis, give it some rest, but don't ever think that tennis doesn't take that much athleticism because as far as ball sports go, only basketball and soccer require more running and jumping than tennis.

 

[tnkGod4tns]

also remember this as we age we should emphasize quality tennis rather than quantity tennis, you will improve more playing qualityy tennis for 1.5 hours rather than bashing and throwing your body around and rallying for 3 hours, 5 days a week.

 

[DaveH]

Tennis can be tough on the body and that's what makes it a great sport. Would you rather be bowling? Tennis, unlike bowling, takes an incredible amount of athleticism, not to mention excellent coordination and practice in developing great strokes.

Thanks for teaching me what it takes to play tennis. I had no idea. I'm assuming you didn't read my posts. I think you read the title and assumed I was some lazy, out of shape guy whining about tennis hurting my fragile little body. Pleeeeeaase, I've been an athlete my entire life.

don't ever think that tennis doesn't take that much athleticism

WTF?? Did I say or even suggest such a thing???

as far as ball sports go, only basketball and soccer require more running and jumping than tennis.

Hmm, exactly. If you had read my posts, you'd see why I'm so confused about my injuries.

I'll try more flexible racquets. I recently started doing rotator cuff exercises. We'll see how that goes. tnkGod4tns, good point. I should probably work on placement over power. I just love pounding that ball, but I know I have to slow down.

 

[Zverev]

Almost identical story here.
Soccer, boxing, street hockey - all my life.
Picked up tennis 3 years ago at the age of 39 and my body fell apart.
Knees, TE/GE, back, shoulder - total wreck.

Now, 3 years later, I am back in good health and shape.
As a matter of fact, the last year was already in good shape.
So it took 2 years for me.

I think, tennis applies different stresses to your body,
especially to joints and tendons. All those sudden stops and changes of directions.
Say, soccer is played on soft surface - grass - much better for the joints.
Basketball seems to be as hard as tennis, but still I belive it's more fluent and less jerky than tennis.

But, the good news - it can be done.
By paying more attention to your body -
thorough warm-ups, stretches, very good shoes, right racquet,
weight watch, and probably more doubles.
Also, don't wreck yourself catching that crazy angle shot,
just leave it, he won't be able to do it again.
It's all just good fun, not GS final.

 

[Ronaldo]

Amen to all of that. Also, as we age, we need more rest. I know from my triathlon training that the biggest enemy of triathletes is overtraining-doing too much. As a consequence, by the time you get to 60, if you are still doing triathlons, you have a decent shot at the podium for your age group because you've won the body lottery, so to speak. Training smartly is much more important for older athletes.

Something else. I hate to mention it in polite, possibly mixed, company, but getting fat is death to your joints. Don't do it. If you've put on a lot of weight and tried to keep up the intensity you've probably overstressed your body. Stay lean, stay strong, get regular coital sex, and don't overdo it.

-Robert

Guys at our club that still play singles at 60 yrs old are as lean as an 18 yr old. Guess fat loss is the key. Still have a guy 85 playing tennis

 

[bee]

53 y.o. and athletic all my life as well.

I've had to tone things down a bit to keep from getting overtrained and wornout. I work also about 50 hours plus a week. Now I do heavy lifting only about once a week, ride the Schwinn Aerdyne 2-3 times per week and swim a slow breast stroke with deep slow breathing for about 30 minutes about twice a week. Young wife demands attention so I'll add a few points for that as well. Play aggressive singles tennis once or twice a week.

Listen, take this very seriously: Your elbows and shoulders will do much better in the long run if you play with a flexible headlight racquet and string it kinda' low with natural gut. Either the Prestige Classic or LM Mid strung with Klip Legend natural gut from TW (not that expensive) at about 54# is very arm-friendly. You should do that. Put some Babolat string savers on the middle of the pattern for a little more bite. I play with the LM Mid setup like that. Since I switched to Head Prestige racquets and natural gut I've had very little problems. No kidding. Think about it.