Wrist sprain, keeps re-spraining playing tennis

[StringSnapper]

I had an injury with my knee and took a couple of months out away from the game, then came back and was playing pretty good but seemed to sprain my wrist.
I was playing a guy with a huge forehand, and seemed to sprain it while i was hitting a one handed topspin backhand. I think it was an off centre hit or something.
Anyway, I kept playing but made it worse. It was so bad that I needed a brace the first day. Then went on a holiday, started rehabbing it and took a couple more months off.


Then:
1. Went to a tennis wall, it was a bit dodgy, took a few more weeks off, rehabbed it some more.
2. Had a hit on the weekend, just light rallying. It felt weird at the start, and like i couldn't 'let go' in fear of it spraining again, but it was OK generally and held up, maybe even improving as we played
3. A week later, had another hit on the weekend. 45 minutes light rallying then we started a set. During the rally, it felt better than the previous week. When we started serving it felt weird again - i guess the serve is a pretty violent motion. But, it seemed to hold up and started feeling a bit better on the serve as.i kept serving. Then we start the match and in the second game, i sprained it again. This time hitting a slice. I've got no idea how, it wasn't an off centre hit. It wasn't even during contact, it seemed like the follow through it just went loose and sprained. I played one more point then called it off, not wanting to set myself back months again. all i can think of is that maybe it was fatigued from the serving that it wasn't used to, and thats what caused it to give out.

Its now the day after 3. I'm pretty frustrated.
In terms of rehabbing i've been doing the exercises in this video:
flexion (i can do 5kg for 20 reps, x3 sets), supination and pronation (5kg for 20 reps, x3 sets)
I should note, unlike where the video indicates, my wrist feels weird more in the middle - not on the outside below the pinkie. its like right in the middle of the wrist where it feels weird / loose.

I haven't been doing extension / ulnar deviation / radial deviation. But I can do ulnar / radial 3kg, 20x3.
In regards to extension - i'm quite weak here, i can only do 1kg (3x20reps). In extension it feels like my wrist is going to sprain again. I think i'll have to work on this though.


Has anyone had experience with this injury before?

Maybe relevant, but i swapped to a higher swing weight racquet before this happened. But not immediately before, like 1 or 2 months before, and it was fine during that time.


In the meantime, is there anything else I can do like wearing a tennis-compatible brace? I've never seen any pros with a wrist brace - do they even exist?

Thanks!

 

[StringSnapper]

I found this which might be good.

Server Busy

This article mentions:
"The number one thing that causes hand and wrist injuries is an extremely tight grip. This tends to place a player’s wrists in unusual positions that make them more likely to become injured."
And tbh i think i was trying a to hit on the backhand with a firmer wrist ... the new racquet i've got also has a smaller handle - maybe that makes it more likely that i'm holding it too tightly too.

The article also says if wearing a wrist brace make sure it doesn't have a thumb hole. I would've thought that would provide more support though. Hmm. Wilson has this one https://www.amazon.com.au/Wilson-Z5...t+brace+tennis&qid=1692015321&s=health&sr=1-4

Or i could try taping, something like this. I've got a hairy arm though so would probably prefer a brace.

 

[Cap]

Yes, I experienced the same few years ago, when I started to play and recently re-occurred again.

I assumed for the first time it was just a weak wrist, not used to play. I don't remember details, which stoke or so.
So I used a Voltaren gel and exercised more (pressing rubber ring) to get muscles accommodated to a new stress. The pain was light, so I kept playing and the pain got away in few weeks.

Recently 2 months ago it was more severe, it think it was dedicated backhand slice practice session. Wrong / extreme slicing and forehand pronation were the most problematic moves.
This time I felt a pain even off-court during real life, like holding full glass, etc. I tried to avoid slicing for now and controlling my strokes more. I bought a wrist brace (with thumb hole), but never used it.
I am treating the wrist with a Dolgit cream (recommended as better alternative to Voltaren) and now I fell no limitation, yet still avoiding slicing.
Possitive for me is I dont't play backhand shots at all, I switch hands and play forehands only (RH / LH), I think it helped me to keep playing - sharing the stress among both hands.

 

[jimmy8]

I had an injury with my knee and took a couple of months out away from the game, then came back and was playing pretty good but seemed to sprain my wrist.
I was playing a guy with a huge forehand, and seemed to sprain it while i was hitting a one handed topspin backhand. I think it was an off centre hit or something.
Anyway, I kept playing but made it worse. It was so bad that I needed a brace the first day. Then went on a holiday, started rehabbing it and took a couple more months off.


Then:
1. Went to a tennis wall, it was a bit dodgy, took a few more weeks off, rehabbed it some more.
2. Had a hit on the weekend, just light rallying. It felt weird at the start, and like i couldn't 'let go' in fear of it spraining again, but it was OK generally and held up, maybe even improving as we played
3. A week later, had another hit on the weekend. 45 minutes light rallying then we started a set. During the rally, it felt better than the previous week. When we started serving it felt weird again - i guess the serve is a pretty violent motion. But, it seemed to hold up and started feeling a bit better on the serve as.i kept serving. Then we start the match and in the second game, i sprained it again. This time hitting a slice. I've got no idea how, it wasn't an off centre hit. It wasn't even during contact, it seemed like the follow through it just went loose and sprained. I played one more point then called it off, not wanting to set myself back months again. all i can think of is that maybe it was fatigued from the serving that it wasn't used to, and thats what caused it to give out.

Its now the day after 3. I'm pretty frustrated.
In terms of rehabbing i've been doing the exercises in this video:
flexion (i can do 5kg for 20 reps, x3 sets), supination and pronation (5kg for 20 reps, x3 sets)
I should note, unlike where the video indicates, my wrist feels weird more in the middle - not on the outside below the pinkie. its like right in the middle of the wrist where it feels weird / loose.

I haven't been doing extension / ulnar deviation / radial deviation. But I can do ulnar / radial 3kg, 20x3.
In regards to extension - i'm quite weak here, i can only do 1kg (3x20reps). In extension it feels like my wrist is going to sprain again. I think i'll have to work on this though.


Has anyone had experience with this injury before?

Maybe relevant, but i swapped to a higher swing weight racquet before this happened. But not immediately before, like 1 or 2 months before, and it was fine during that time.


In the meantime, is there anything else I can do like wearing a tennis-compatible brace? I've never seen any pros with a wrist brace - do they even exist?

Thanks!

Are you using a babolat racket? Are you using rpm blast strings?

 

[Rosstour]

I had an injury with my knee and took a couple of months out away from the game, then came back and was playing pretty good but seemed to sprain my wrist.
I was playing a guy with a huge forehand, and seemed to sprain it while i was hitting a one handed topspin backhand. I think it was an off centre hit or something.
Anyway, I kept playing but made it worse. It was so bad that I needed a brace the first day. Then went on a holiday, started rehabbing it and took a couple more months off.


Then:
1. Went to a tennis wall, it was a bit dodgy, took a few more weeks off, rehabbed it some more.
2. Had a hit on the weekend, just light rallying. It felt weird at the start, and like i couldn't 'let go' in fear of it spraining again, but it was OK generally and held up, maybe even improving as we played
3. A week later, had another hit on the weekend. 45 minutes light rallying then we started a set. During the rally, it felt better than the previous week. When we started serving it felt weird again - i guess the serve is a pretty violent motion. But, it seemed to hold up and started feeling a bit better on the serve as.i kept serving. Then we start the match and in the second game, i sprained it again. This time hitting a slice. I've got no idea how, it wasn't an off centre hit. It wasn't even during contact, it seemed like the follow through it just went loose and sprained. I played one more point then called it off, not wanting to set myself back months again. all i can think of is that maybe it was fatigued from the serving that it wasn't used to, and thats what caused it to give out.

Its now the day after 3. I'm pretty frustrated.
In terms of rehabbing i've been doing the exercises in this video:
flexion (i can do 5kg for 20 reps, x3 sets), supination and pronation (5kg for 20 reps, x3 sets)
I should note, unlike where the video indicates, my wrist feels weird more in the middle - not on the outside below the pinkie. its like right in the middle of the wrist where it feels weird / loose.

I haven't been doing extension / ulnar deviation / radial deviation. But I can do ulnar / radial 3kg, 20x3.
In regards to extension - i'm quite weak here, i can only do 1kg (3x20reps). In extension it feels like my wrist is going to sprain again. I think i'll have to work on this though.


Has anyone had experience with this injury before?

Maybe relevant, but i swapped to a higher swing weight racquet before this happened. But not immediately before, like 1 or 2 months before, and it was fine during that time.


In the meantime, is there anything else I can do like wearing a tennis-compatible brace? I've never seen any pros with a wrist brace - do they even exist?

Thanks!

Dude stop playing for a bit please. I know a guy I used to play with whose rec career ended at 25 because he messed up his wrist from too much bowling. Now he can't bowl or play tennis ever again. Wrists are not to be trifled with.

 

[gold325]

@StringSnapper

Do this test!

You can try the Wrist Widget

 

[graycrait]

Dude stop playing for a bit please.

Please heed this advice, even if you have to quit for a year or more to get back to near 100%. I had an injury where I couldn't even make a loose fist for over year. Couldn't swing a racket for 18 months. Tennis will be there on the other end unless you do irreparable harm.

 

[Rosstour]

Please heed this advice, even if you have to quit for a year or more to get back to near 100%. I had an injury where I couldn't even make a loose fist for over year. Couldn't swing a racket for 18 months. Tennis will be there on the other end unless you do irreparable harm.

Thank you

I had a RC tear and played about 10 hours of tennis from 4/22 - 5/23. It was hard but I knew if I pushed too hard/too soon I would never be a full player again.

Now I can play multiple days per week but ut took a while to get there.

 

[socallefty]

Looks like a serious recurring injury and a wrist sprain can be one of many things.

1. See a doctor who can do a proper diagnosis - might need X-rays and a MRI
2 Do whatever rest/PT regimen the doctor puts you in. If he recommends surgery, get a second opinion before you commit.
3. Find a coach to diagnose your shots and see if your technique is causing wrist issues.

I assume you are not using dead poly and know to cut it out in 10-25 hours before it starts hurting you. Often imjuries arise from players playing with poly till they break it long after it is dead and is causing pain.

 

[jimmy8]

wrist injury - go to a hand surgeon. I've been to one for my hand. they specialize in hand and wrist.

 

[StringSnapper]

Are you using a babolat racket? Are you using rpm blast strings?

No, yonex vcore pro with rpm team in one and another yonex vcore pro with some other strings I forgot the name of, not babolat ones.

 

[StringSnapper]

Please heed this advice, even if you have to quit for a year or more to get back to near 100%. I had an injury where I couldn't even make a loose fist for over year. Couldn't swing a racket for 18 months. Tennis will be there on the other end unless you do irreparable harm.

@Rosstour

The reason I've attempted to keep playing is under the idea of injuries healing with "managed load". I thought if i don't try to play or only do weighted exercises (which never mimic actual tennis loads) then it would never actually heal, that the time rested doesn't actually matter.

I've rested 3 months or so already.

An update on the injury from this weekend was that it was confusing, I've basically not lost any strength in it - even though it has been hurting a bit from the injury. Still doing weighted exercises. Ordered both wrist braces, and added a leather grip to one of my racquets handles for increased thickness (like my old racquet).

But yeah, might also not play for 4+ months like you guys recommend. Although I may hit on the wall for 10-15mins at a time with lighter hitting as part of the rehab process, maybe just once a week.

Spending money on a hand surgeon / MRI is a bit out of the question, if I need a surgery to play tennis I'd probably just quit. Would rather spend money on travel and find another way to exercise.

 

[StringSnapper]

Thanks for all the replies so far!

 

[jimmy8]

No, yonex vcore pro with rpm team in one and another yonex vcore pro with some other strings I forgot the name of, not babolat ones.

vcore pro is very flexible - good.

rpm team is more comfortable than rpm blast, but it is still medium stiff. i would suggest a softer string and maybe go hybrid with a multifilament.

 

[StringSnapper]

vcore pro is very flexible - good.

rpm team is more comfortable than rpm blast, but it is still medium stiff. i would suggest a softer string and maybe go hybrid with a multifilament.

Would that matter much though? Previous racquet had dead rpm blast in it, and I never got tennis elbow and neither with this racquet either.

I started using a shock absorber with new racquets (it was just in there when I bought it second hand) - would that put more shock into the wrist somehow?

 

[jimmy8]

@Rosstour

The reason I've attempted to keep playing is under the idea of injuries healing with "managed load". I thought if i don't try to play or only do weighted exercises (which never mimic actual tennis loads) then it would never actually heal, that the time rested doesn't actually matter.

I've rested 3 months or so already.

An update on the injury from this weekend was that it was confusing, I've basically not lost any strength in it - even though it has been hurting a bit from the injury. Still doing weighted exercises. Ordered both wrist braces, and added a leather grip to one of my racquets handles for increased thickness (like my old racquet).

But yeah, might also not play for 4+ months like you guys recommend. Although I may hit on the wall for 10-15mins at a time with lighter hitting as part of the rehab process, maybe just once a week.

Spending money on a hand surgeon / MRI is a bit out of the question, if I need a surgery to play tennis I'd probably just quit. Would rather spend money on travel and find another way to exercise.

I would suggest changing the leather grip to a nicely cushioned synthetic grip - much more shock absorption.

You don't have health insurance? The insurance will pay for most, if not all of it.

 

[jimmy8]

Would that matter much though? Previous racquet had dead rpm blast in it, and I never got tennis elbow and neither with this racquet either.

I started using a shock absorber with new racquets (it was just in there when I bought it second hand) - would that put more shock into the wrist somehow?

The shock absorber on the strings - I'm not sure how much that helps.

 

[LuckyR]

The shock absorber on the strings - I'm not sure how much that helps.

Stringbed dampeners dampen the sound of the strings (when struck), they do nothing for your arm.

 

[tennis3]

In the meantime, is there anything else I can do like wearing a tennis-compatible brace? I've never seen any pros with a wrist brace - do they even exist?

Thanks!

The reason I've attempted to keep playing is under the idea of injuries healing with "managed load". I thought if i don't try to play or only do weighted exercises (which never mimic actual tennis loads) then it would never actually heal, that the time rested doesn't actually matter.

I think hitting the ball is a good idea for blood flow, but brace it.



1. Get an X-ray. They should X-ray both wrists and compare. This will show if the wrist bones look the same in both wrists or if you have possible ligament damage. X-rays are cheap.

2. If it's not ligament damage, it pretty much can only be cartilage tear. An MRI is probably useless unless you are one of those obsessive types that have to know for sure and have to see a picture of the tear. But MRI's are expensive.

3. If it's a cartilage tear, what you have is a PAIN MANAGEMENT issue. Don't worry about the tear. The only way it's getting repaired is with surgery. And you'd be insane to get surgery. You need to control the pain (this comes from the Sports Medicine doctor I saw). I also got the same advice from Clay Sniteman. You can google his name if you don't know who he is.

4. The key is BLOOD FLOW. There very little blood flow and therefore very little healing that takes place in the wrist.

5. What I did was to get a hard piece of plastic that supported my wrist from bending back, taping it to my wrist. Then I used a ball machine to hit balls everyday. But you can do whatever you want to do to try and get blood flow. But you have to do it often and for some time.

6. Babolat makes a wrist support supposedly specifically for tennis. I didn't like it. I like this cheap one from Wal Mart. But this is after rehab. This brace isn't strong enough to use during rehab. But wear this now when I play.

Robot or human?

www.walmart.com