When Your Back Breaks Serve, Visit Your Chiropractor
By Stephen R. Farris
All across the United States, there's not a community based park that doesn't feature at least two things. A basketball court and a tennis court. Both sports offer hours of enjoyment playing, and help developing friendships as well as great ways to keep physically fit.
Focusing on tennis, it's a sport that has been around since the 12th century originating in France. Back then, tennis was called jeu de paume, probably because it was played using the palm of your hand. Rackets didn't come into play until the 16th century.
Now that we've learned the origins of the sport, tennis combines the use of several major muscle groups, which include the legs, upper and lower back, hips, arms, wrists, ankles, and feet. That's a lot of movement utilizing all those body parts. So it's not uncommon for any or all of those parts to feel occasional aches and pains, or to get injured.
Most injuries occur from the use of the wrists, arms, and shoulders, but they can all happen (injuries) in the lower back, hips, legs, and ankles. Don't get me wrong, I'm not discouraging anyone from taking up the sport, but it should be mindful of some of the injuries that can happen. As with any sport, injuries can happen at any given moment.
If you're a beginner at tennis, novice, or hardcore player, there are a few things you should take into consideration before picking up that racket or opening that can of tennis balls.
Know the Risks of the Sport
There are several risk factors to think about with tennis when it deals with the effects it could have on the body. Most of the time you'll be either serving the ball or making volleys. Both movements involve the use of your back, which doesn't evenly distribute to other parts of the body, so the blunt of it falls on the lower back and hips. On the plus side of the sport, it's a great way to keep physically fit and a good fit if you deal with a lot of stress, being that you'll find it to be relaxing.
Be Prepared
If you're playing tennis just as a recreational player, or plan to enter tournaments or leagues, you should consider doing some prep work. What I mean by prep work, you should be prepared to do some core training and strengthening to help keep your back from succumbing to injury. Consider it as preventive medicine. Do some type of endurance training such as running or go out and start playing a couple of times a week, then longer (three days) the next week, and so on.
Once you start playing tennis, you might end up hooked, but remember that when you do start feeling aches and pains from your game, visit your local chiropractor to get relief so you can continue to win game, set, and match with your active lifestyle.
To learn more about your health, wellness and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Dallas, Tex.