Joint Health For Racket Sport Play
Racket sports like tennis, badminton, and squash are a great way to get your heart rate up and your body moving. These sports are excellent high intensity exercise, combining running, jumping, extension and coordination – not to mention friendly competition! Unfortunately this also means tennis injuries are common. Movements like the repetitive twisting of the spine and impact against the racket are demanding on your body, and it’s imperative that tennis players pay close attention to the care and protection of their joints.
Racket sports affect your upper and lower body differently. For your lower body, the game involves a lot of stops and starts – pivoting, jumping, sprinting, stopping and lunging. In order to do this, your knee must flex and extend while your hips and ankles roll and twist to facilitate the action. If your hips tighten up or your ankles grow weak, your knee joints are put in a vulnerable position.
Your upper body joints, on the other hand, are performing repetitive, high impact hits that leave your – shoulders, elbows, and wrists liable to strain and tearing. Tennis Elbow is one of the most common injuries associated with tennis, caused by inflammation in the tendons of the upper arm.
Taking steps to protect your joints now will pave the way for strong, agile game play and the endurance to perform at your best, no matter your age.
What is Tennis Elbow?
Tennis elbow, or lateral epicondylitis, is one of the most common sports injuries in the UK. Any activity that involves repetitive multi-directional impact, like gripping a racket, can strain your muscles and put pressure on your tendons (the tissue that connects muscle and bone). This causes inflammation and tiny tears in the tendon that can radiate nerve pain through the entire arm. Tennis elbow may make it difficult to fully extend or bend the arms, or inhibit everyday activities that involve lifting, gripping, or twisting.
If you begin to experience swelling and nerve pain in your elbow that doesn’t go away, you might speak to your GP about possible treatment options, such as acupuncture or physical therapy. In the meantime, maintaining a nutritious diet that supports your joints can help you recover quickly and protect you from another injury.
Along with good food and plenty of rest, many people decide to take natural supplements to ease tennis elbow and associated conditions. Natural food supplements like Flexiqule can help reduce inflammation around the tendon, relieve pain, and get you back on the court.
Treatment & Joint Supplements for Tennis Players
Racket sports can put an enormous amount of strain on our joints that can make it difficult to perform simple tasks like turning a doorknob, holding a cup or shaking hands. Taking steps to protect your joints is crucial to maintaining mobility and comfort on and off the court.
Never push yourself to keep playing if you start experiencing pain. Too often players overuse the same muscle or joint by ignoring signals to slow down and take a rest. Stretching before and after each match will both prepare your body and help increase awareness of which muscles and joints you engage during the game.
Supportive footwear, plenty of water, and proper stroke mechanics all play an important role in joint protection. You expect a lot from your body during a high-intensity game, and any step you can take to reduce stress on your joints will only help you stay safely engaged.
We can do even more for our joints by eating right and making sure you get enough vitamins and minerals. Flexiqule’s powerful, botanical extracts from Ginger and Boswellia can help reduce inflammation, lubricate joints, and fight harmful oxidants that accelerate the breakdown of cartilage.