In what is reportedly the first-ever national study of platform (paddle) tennis injury, 66% of the more than 1,000 respondents to an online survey reveal they have sustained an injury from playing the game.
In addition, the nationwide survey of American Platform Tennis Association players notes that among the players who reported an injury, more than half sustained two or more.
The most common conditions reported were injuries to the shin/calf (21%), knee (16%), elbow (16%), ankle (13%) and shoulder (10%). Sixty percent of the injuries were caused by overuse, and 40% were due to an incident that occurred during play, according to a media release from Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush.
“We knew it was a high-injury sport based on the number of paddle patients we treat. But until now, there wasn’t any research that proved this,” says Dr Leda Ghannad, a sports medicine physician at Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush, who coordinated the survey with approval from the internal review board at Rush University Medical Center.
“Paddle tennis requires a mixture of speed, agility, and quick bursts of energy, which makes athletes more susceptible to getting hurt. Many players are also middle-aged ‘weekend warriors’ who don’t strengthen or stretch their muscles and ligaments in-between games or practices,” she adds.
Paddle tennis is similar to tennis but is played outside in the winter on a small, elevated court surrounded by a screen. Courts are heated from underneath to clear snow and ice. Most participants are between the ages of 40 and 65, the release explains.
In light of the reportedly high injury rate in the sport, Ghannad advises players that, “It is critical to incorporate warm-up exercises and prevention strategies into your routine.”
The Chicago Platform Tennis Association, along with sports medicine physicians at Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush, has developed injury prevention techniques for platform tennis players.
[Source(s): Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush, PR Newswire]
[Photo credit: PRNewsFoto/Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush]
