Flexibility and Stretching Exercises to Avoid Repetitive Stress Injuries
July 1, 2009 | By Laszlo Elek
Injuries are a part of tennis … it is a fast moving game with lots of stopping and starting, sharp lateral movements, accelerations and stretches. As you get older, your chance of repetitive stress injuries increases.
So, should you just accept that injuries happen or is there something you can do to reduce the risk of injury? If you look at the top pros—for example Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal—you will notice that, despite the huge volume of games they play at an incredibly intense level, they are rarely injured. How is that possible?
Their secret lies in the work they do to strengthen and increase the flexibility of the key areas, those most susceptible to injury in tennis players. Let’s start by looking at two of the most common lower leg injuries:
++Calf muscle strain
++Ankle sprain
Calf muscle strain
Also known as tennis leg, a calf muscle strain occurs when there is a sudden contraction of the calf muscles, often during a sprint or sudden change of direction. This injury is very common in players over the age of 35.
The main symptom is a sudden, sharp, burning pain in the lower leg. If you feel a sharp pain in this area, you should immediately stop playing, and get ice onto the injured area as soon as possible.
This injury will take anywhere up to six weeks to heal. The sooner you get ice on it, the quicker the recovery. Once the acute pain has reduced (24 to 48 hours), you can begin gentle stretching.
Stretches to perform
With all stretches, you should stretch to the point of tightness, not pain. Hold when you feel tightness, breathing deeply and relax.
Upper calf
Using a wall or counter for support, take your injured leg backwards and straighten the leg. Press your heel to the floor, and feel the stretch in the upper calf and the back of the knee. Hold for 30 sec., then relax. Repeat twice for each leg.
Lower calf
Stand with both feet flat on the floor, pointing forward, half a stride apart. Keeping your back straight, gently bend your knees and rest your bodyweight on the rear foot. You should feel the stretch in the lower calf and Achilles tendon area.
Strengthening the area
Rehabilitating any injury requires a combination of flexibility work and strength work. Strengthening this area should start with some easy exercises:
++Foot alphabets: Sit on a chair and write the alphabet in the air with the foot of the injured leg.
++Towel scrunches: Roll up a towel by grasping it with the toes of the injured leg. Repeat 10 times.
++Calf raises: This is a key exercise. Stand with the front of your foot on a stair or step, the heel off the edge. Slowly rise onto your toes, pause, then slowly return to the starting position. Repeat 10 times. As you get stronger, you can start to do this one leg at a time.
++Plyometrics: Plyometrics are explosive movements and are great practice for the movements you will perform during a game. Do not perform these exercises until the injury is completely healed.
++Bunny hops: Using an imaginary line, do 20 two-footed sideways hops back and forth.
Ankle sprain
A very common tennis injury, this is usually caused by landing on the outside of the foot, which turns the foot too far inwards. In addition to the stretches described above, do the following exercises to strengthen this area:
++Ankle circles: Sit in a chair. Lift the injured foot and slowly circle the ankle 10 to 20 times in each direction.
++Outside of foot pulls: Sit in a chair with your feet on the floor, one end of an elastic tube attached to the chair, the other end of the tube under the middle of the injured foot. Move the foot outwards against the resistance of the elastic tubing, keeping the outer side of the foot facing up. Repeat 10 times.
++Heel walks and toe walks: Walk on your heels, keeping the rest of the foot off the ground. Then walk on your toes. Finally, walk on the inside of your feet, the big toe kept firmly against the ground.
++Balance exercises: Stand on one foot for 30 seconds, then switch feet. Now try it with your eyes closed—this is much harder! Finally, standing on one foot, throw and catch a ball, either against the floor or against a wall.
Regularly performing these exercises will increase both strength and flexibility, and reduce the chances of future injuries. Finally, be sure to always warm up and cool down thoroughly before and after a match.
