What should Murray have done to prevent his hip injury?

[Jokervich]

Sorry the off season is kind of slow, couldn't think of any great threads I always thought Murray massively overplayed in 2016 to get to number 1 and then gave way too much in the match against Wawrinka at RG 2017 (lets face it, he would have never beaten Nadal in the final and he reached the final the previous year, so I'm not sure why he put everything into that match). But then people have said the injury was about to happen anyway so whether he overplayed or not is irrelevant.

What do you think? Was there any point in his career where he could have prevented the hip injury, or was it just inevitable and extremely unlucky?

 

[Nostradamus]

he should have serve and volleyed more like Rafter

 

[Sudacafan]

He should have played more matches in 2016.

 

[MurraysMetalHip]

Played darts rather than tennis?

 

[Sudacafan]

Played darts rather than tennis?

Isn’t that bad for the hips, too?

 

[Terenigma]

Played too many events that were irrelevant to his career such as charity events or filling in to maintain a good public image such as replacing Federer at the WTF when the latter pulled out. Also being far too stubborn with his own injuries, so many times he sustained an injury or played through the pain and his determination to compete meant he only made it worse. After the first initial operation he was trying to play FAR too soon and remember in i think it was 2014 he played like 3 tournaments in a row (won them all) to make a push for the WTF only to be completely wiped physically there. Even with his Hip/Back problems he was just obviously walking like an old man on court and talked about it, did he take time out to rest? Nope.

TL;DR = Stubborn attitude to his own limitations, especially with injuries and playing too many events.

 

[Jokervich]

Played too many events that were irrelevant to his career such as charity events or filling in to maintain a good public image such as replacing Federer at the WTF when the latter pulled out. Also being far too stubborn with his own injuries, so many times he sustained an injury or played through the pain and his determination to compete meant he only made it worse. After the first initial operation he was trying to play FAR too soon and remember in i think it was 2014 he played like 3 tournaments in a row (won them all) to make a push for the WTF only to be completely wiped physically there. Even with his Hip/Back problems he was just obviously walking like an old man on court and talked about it, did he take time out to rest? Nope.

TL;DR = Stubborn attitude to his own limitations, especially with injuries and playing too many events.

That makes sense. It looked like his workout regime was too much as well. He put on a load of extra muscle for no real reason. Is that level of muscle really necessary for tennis? It seems like a body similar to Djokovic's is ideal as a tennis player.

 

[ollinger]

I always thought Murray massively overplayed in 2016 to get to number 1

the sort of hip injury he had develops over years of overuse or just routine wear and tear, and one season of playing "too much" is unlikely to be a factor

 

[Third Serve]

I think there’s definitely a luck component to it, but it’s worth noting that he pushed himself to the absolute limit to snatch that YE-#1 in 2016. Between his Beijing and his WTF wins, Muzz played and made it all the way in five tournaments spanning seven weeks (with just two of down time). He really did give it all for that win.

I wouldn’t say it’s the direct cause of his problems since these things develop over time, but it definitely aggravated them.

 

[Kralingen]

Stretched more…

I always felt like he was too focused on building muscle (see his huge biceps/quads and his crossfit pull up routines) and not enough on stretching. I always think that doing yoga or Pilates for athletes is going to help injury prevention wise. And for someone like Murray who always seemed a little stiff, it could have helped his balances, flexibility, and overall movement.

obviously I’m not saying that he didn’t stretch, but relaxing some of those workout routines by switching the weights for a yoga mat could have really helped imo. Hindsight 20/20 though.

aside from that, playing more offensive and adapting a dictation style from the baseline could have helped him put less miles on his body and played shorter less intense matches.

 

[droliver]

I think the premise here has unrealistic expectations on the half life of what an ATP career looks like.

He was already 10+ yrs on tour and around 30 when he started to break down. Most players historically (and even now) were off the tour at his age from a collection of injuries. For a bigger player (6' 3"), he held up pretty well and had a fine career in peak form for most of the 2010's

 

[MurraysMetalHip]

Isn’t that bad for the hips, too?

Possibly, but all the beer deadens there pain.

 

[Mainad]

Mainly genetics. He already suffered from a bi-partite patella from an early age, back problems and a painful hip that got progressively worse as his career went on (he stated that he would often just play through the pain until it became too much). Both these injuries eventually required surgery in order to allow him to continue to play. In this crucial respect he was not as fortunate as the Big 3 when they were playing at their peak.

 

[Jonesy]

Should have reinforced those hips by dancing to Shakira songs.

 

[Nuclear]

Played too many events that were irrelevant to his career such as charity events or filling in to maintain a good public image such as replacing Federer at the WTF when the latter pulled out. Also being far too stubborn with his own injuries, so many times he sustained an injury or played through the pain and his determination to compete meant he only made it worse. After the first initial operation he was trying to play FAR too soon and remember in i think it was 2014 he played like 3 tournaments in a row (won them all) to make a push for the WTF only to be completely wiped physically there. Even with his Hip/Back problems he was just obviously walking like an old man on court and talked about it, did he take time out to rest? Nope.

TL;DR = Stubborn attitude to his own limitations, especially with injuries and playing too many events.

Lol. He thought he was the main character of a show.

 

[wangs78]

Even now, after his hip replacement, he's still playing. That alone tells you how much he values getting and staying healthy versus competing on the tennis court. It's only a matter of time before he gets another hip replacement. To each his own.

 

[gjm127]

It was bound to happen. Had he played less in 2016, he would have probably delayed his injuries by a few months. There's nothing he could have done better to completely avoid this. It's genetics. It's life. It happens. But he's been coming back and an being an impressive role model for kids out there which is great.

 

[BeatlesFan]

Andy bulked up and eventually carried 20+ pounds extra on his frame. The wear and tear on the body, especially with his grinding style, was brutal. There's no necessity for a tennis player to bulk up ones upper body to that extent - look at Fed's skinny arms and he managed to have an above average career during a pathetically weak era. At least that's what I read from wise pundits on TTW.

This guy below won more than twice as many slams and twice as many tournaments as Andy and he didn't bulk up either. He's also never had a knee replacement or any other surgeries after his retirement. So my answer is Andy Murray over trained and bulked up in a sport which doesn't reward massive upper body muscles. And he paid the price.

 

[mike danny]

Mainly genetics. He already suffered from a bi-partite patella from an early age, back problems and a painful hip that got progressively worse as his career went on (he stated that he would often just play through the pain until it became too much). Both these injuries eventually required surgery in order to allow him to continue to play. In this crucial respect he was not as fortunate as the Big 3 when they were playing at their peak.

Murray, like most players, followed a normal career trajectory though. It's just the Big 3 that are anomalies.

 

[aldeayeah]

I seem to remember Toni mentioning once that Murray's training regime was absolutely brutal.

If the Nadals, of all people, think you're training too much, chances are you're training way too much

 

[mike danny]

I seem to remember Toni mentioning once that Murray's training regime was absolutely brutal.

If the Nadals, of all people, think you're training too much, chances are you're training way too much

I'm starting to wonder why Rafa became so bulky himself. He really didn't need to be.

 

[Rosstour]

Stretched more…

I always felt like he was too focused on building muscle (see his huge biceps/quads and his crossfit pull up routines) and not enough on stretching. I always think that doing yoga or Pilates for athletes is going to help injury prevention wise. And for someone like Murray who always seemed a little stiff, it could have helped his balances, flexibility, and overall movement.

obviously I’m not saying that he didn’t stretch, but relaxing some of those workout routines by switching the weights for a yoga mat could have really helped imo. Hindsight 20/20 though.

aside from that, playing more offensive and adapting a dictation style from the baseline could have helped him put less miles on his body and played shorter less intense matches.

Yoga and stretching are way overrated for sports and can actually leave you in a more injury-prone state if you overdo it before your workouts.

 

[The Blond Blur]

He didn’t drink enough Ovaltine

 

[Slicehand]

Play pickleball

 

[Slicehand]

And relax and pipe a bit

 

[Deleted member 629564]

Was there any point in his career where he could have prevented the hip injury, or was it just inevitable and extremely unlucky?

12 years ago, late 2009:
"Come on Andy, don't play Australian Open, let to rest your hip. You are going to lose all your 5 finals in the next 7 years."

He won 39 matches in Melbourne between 2010 and 2016 with zero AO trophies.
One of the biggest energy wastes in the tennis history.

 

[cortado]

Likely genetics (hip dysplasia). His hip probably wasn't a perfect fit in the first place. Tennis exacerbated the problem but it probably would have happened eventually anyway, just decades later.

 

[norcal]

Likely genetics (hip dysplasia). His hip probably wasn't a perfect fit in the first place. Tennis exacerbated the problem but it probably would have happened eventually anyway, just decades later.

^^ that is the answer. I had similar hip problems and that's exactly what the surgeon said, the hip doesn't fit together perfectly and just gets worse with use over time. If I were a stamp collector instead of a sports fanatic it would be no big deal.

All tennis pros player grind the crap out of their bodies since 5 years old, there's a reason only a few have such severe hip problems - and it's not because he did/didn't stretch enough or play more matches than other players.

It's called

Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) is a condition in which extra bone grows along one or both of the bones that form the hip joint — giving the bones an irregular shape. Because they do not fit together perfectly, the bones rub against each other during movement.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

Get laid, get paid.

 

[Pumpkin]

Perhaps his technique makes him susceptible to hip injuries.

 

[Jokervich]

12 years ago, late 2009:
"Come on Andy, don't play Australian Open, let to rest your hip. You are going to lose all your 5 finals in the next 7 years."

He won 39 matches in Melbourne between 2010 and 2016 with zero AO trophies.
One of the biggest energy wastes in the tennis history.

That's true, although he did run into a near peak Federer and peak Djokovic every single time.

 

[Gerco]

Andy bulked up and eventually carried 20+ pounds extra on his frame. The wear and tear on the body, especially with his grinding style, was brutal. There's no necessity for a tennis player to bulk up ones upper body to that extent - look at Fed's skinny arms and he managed to have an above average career during a pathetically weak era. At least that's what I read from wise pundits on TTW.

This guy below won more than twice as many slams and twice as many tournaments as Andy and he didn't bulk up either. He's also never had a knee replacement or any other surgeries after his retirement. So my answer is Andy Murray over trained and bulked up in a sport which doesn't reward massive upper body muscles. And he paid the price.

Same thing happenned with Roddick, one season he appeared all bulked up squared faced like Murray did.. Although I don´t recall if that ment problems for Roddick

 

[Visionary]

Andy should've reduced his ice bath routine and relying on the cold treatments. When excessive pains kicked in, he should've taken a rest and other traditional treatments; and perhaps, anti-inflammatory substances instead.

 

[D.Nalby12]

Too much stress on body.

 

[Kralingen]

One other thing, I remember reading some NBA team doctor saying the vast majority of major hip/knee/ankle recurring injuries stem from one foot being bigger than the other, or one leg longer than the other.

In other words, asymmetry may not bother the average person more than slight discomfort, but the millions of repetitions on an asymmetrical or imbalanced body is a huge problem for pro athletes.

In terms of Murray his sciatica and back/hip problems seem to match that to a T, perhaps he had an asymmetrical gait or one leg that was an inch longer than the other. These things make a difference.

 

[pj80]

He should have visited Bosnian Pyramids before embarking on a busy schedule...

 

[No_Kwan_Do]

I'm not sure there was much he could have done to prevent it. It was less a question of if, and more a question of when.

The massive playing schedule he had between Wimbledon 16 and Wimbledon 17 probably accelerated the issue, but even if he had been more frugal with his schedule, it probably would have gone later that year or in 2018. It's not an issue that suddenly developed overnight in 2017, he's been struggling with his hip for years but did his best to manage the pain as best as possible. Obviously when he couldn't walk at Wimbledon in 2017, it became something that needed to be addressed.

 

[DRII]

Sorry the off season is kind of slow, couldn't think of any great threads I always thought Murray massively overplayed in 2016 to get to number 1 and then gave way too much in the match against Wawrinka at RG 2017 (lets face it, he would have never beaten Nadal in the final and he reached the final the previous year, so I'm not sure why he put everything into that match). But then people have said the injury was about to happen anyway so whether he overplayed or not is irrelevant.

What do you think? Was there any point in his career where he could have prevented the hip injury, or was it just inevitable and extremely unlucky?

He should have never have had back surgery! Lendl told him not to and threatened to stop coaching him if he did.

And we all saw what happened.

 

[DRII]

That makes sense. It looked like his workout regime was too much as well. He put on a load of extra muscle for no real reason. Is that level of muscle really necessary for tennis? It seems like a body similar to Djokovic's is ideal as a tennis player.

Murray never had the racquet head speed of the other Big 4. He relies on plow through and a very heavy racquet. He needs to be physically stronger given his game.

 

[jarko111]

It’s weird watching his old matches and seeing how much he favored the side or always had weird landings on it.

 

[Visionary]

One other thing, I remember reading some NBA team doctor saying the vast majority of major hip/knee/ankle recurring injuries stem from one foot being bigger than the other, or one leg longer than the other.

In other words, asymmetry may not bother the average person more than slight discomfort, but the millions of repetitions on an asymmetrical or imbalanced body is a huge problem for pro athletes.

In terms of Murray his sciatica and back/hip problems seem to match that to a T, perhaps he had an asymmetrical gait or one leg that was an inch longer than the other. These things make a difference.

I thank you for pointing that out. In fact, there are more people with asymmetry issues with their arms, legs, spine etc. than we may think.

 

[MissileBackHand99]

I knew the answers here were gonna be know-it-all and idiotic, but sheesh. I’m cracking up at how so many in here are Andy’s orthopedist or sports medicine Doc or Certified Physiologist—Everything from Andy “played too much in 2016” to he “should’ve stayed leaner and less muscular because McEnroe did” (which makes ZERO sense to anyone with a passable knowledge of physiology), to “Andy didn’t stretch enough”. Forget his team of trained professionals, he just should’ve came on this forum and gotten the expert advice needed to avoid a degenerative hip issue lol

Andy damn sure didn’t push himself “too far” or not take care of his body—injuries sometimes are unavoidable. It’s nice to think that you can neatly plan to avoid all injuries for your career…but that just isn’t true. Nadal didn’t ask to have bad knees, DelPo didn’t ask to have his myriad of leg and wrist injuries, and Murray didn’t ask to have a degenerative joint issue with his hips. Injuries sometimes can’t be predicted or avoided…that’s just life

 

[blauerton]

He should've adopted a vegetarian and gluten free diet like Djokovic. This way he would avoid inflammatory foods and greatly improve his recovery time between matches or after injuries. Gluten free diet would also reduce inflammation and improve recovery time.

 

[Picmun]

Typical stupid BS TTW troll thread, many people are prone to early hip degeneration and need replacement in their 30s/40s. Genetics/Just bad luck.

Couple this with the punishment an ATG supreme athlete like Murry will put on his body and you have injuries.

It's as ridiculously stupid as saying what could Fedal ( or any other player ) do to avoid injuries? - Not be born ?

Of course Djokovic could have done everyone a favour and saved tennis by not being born.

 

[Mr.Lob]

May or may not have helped, but I always thought Murray was a bit too muscle bound in his latter years. Like he was going to rip out of his skin as it was stretched too tight. Maybe 10-15 pounds lighter. More aggression. Less grinding. Too young for a new hip, no matter what. So maybe Judy's DNA not the greatest for longevity.

 

[Sudacafan]

Not playing professional tennis, nor any professional sport in general.

 

[Adam Copeland]

Andy bulked up and eventually carried 20+ pounds extra on his frame. The wear and tear on the body, especially with his grinding style, was brutal. There's no necessity for a tennis player to bulk up ones upper body to that extent - look at Fed's skinny arms and he managed to have an above average career during a pathetically weak era. At least that's what I read from wise pundits on TTW.

This guy below won more than twice as many slams and twice as many tournaments as Andy and he didn't bulk up either. He's also never had a knee replacement or any other surgeries after his retirement. So my answer is Andy Murray over trained and bulked up in a sport which doesn't reward massive upper body muscles. And he paid the price.

Having more muscles in your body/bulking up has no connection with having brittle hips, it is a genetic issue, not related to Andy being muscular.

 

[The Big Foe fan]

That makes sense. It looked like his workout regime was too much as well. He put on a load of extra muscle for no real reason. Is that level of muscle really necessary for tennis? It seems like a body similar to Djokovic's is ideal as a tennis player.

And even with all those muscles, his shots were and still are way less penetrating than "skinny" Djokovic's, lol.

 

[The Big Foe fan]

I'm starting to wonder why Rafa became so bulky himself. He really didn't need to be.

And bulking is precisely why nadal after 2018 has always been susceptible to massive stamina drops after 2 - 2,5 hours.

 

[aldeayeah]

Having more muscles in your body/bulking up has no connection with having brittle hips, it is a genetic issue, not related to Andy being muscular.

Brittle? What he had wasn't a fracture, it was wear in the ball joint. However, I agree with Andy's bulk not being a likely cause.