Whether you’re training for your next big competition or simply using the sport to stay in shape, injuries are never fun. And even though tennis is great for your health, it does come packed with potential to get hurt—especially for novice athletes improving their fitness. One misstep can send your knee out of alignment, crippling your game on the court, and consistent playtime can lead to overuse injuries that send shooting pain up your spine at the mere bend of your arm.
If you’re healing from a common tennis injury, you don’t need to hang your racquet up for good. Use these strategies to accelerate your recovery time so you can get back into the game sooner, rather than later.
Step #1: Know What You’re Working With
Before you can begin the path toward healing, you first need to identify the exact problem at hand. Keep in mind, only a medical professional can accurately diagnose the damage, so it’s always wise to get it checked out—you can never be sure whether that bothersome knee is acute arthritis or a hairline fracture without a doctor’s examination.
That said, there are some injuries that tend to occur often among tennis players, the most notable being the dreaded tennis elbow. Other common culprits include tennis knee, patellar tendonitis, rotator cuff tears, and ankle sprains. It’s important to be mindful of these ailments so that you can better prevent them from occurring—by wearing supportive braces or kinesiology tape, for example—and worsening once developed.
Always listen to your body. If something starts barking at you, resist the urge to play through the pain and lay off it for a while. Otherwise, your risk facing a long and slow road to recovery.
Step #2: Live by RICE Around the Clock
If you can catch a mild injury right after it happens, the odds of it turning into a sidelining game-ender will be much lower. You might think it’s just a slight shoulder strain that you can push past, but without giving it the TLC it needs, it might result in a serious tear the next time you put it to the test.
The key is to practice the tried-and-true method of Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation (RICE) all throughout the day. Here’s why:
- Rest – You need to give your body a chance to heal, so give it a break for a while. Avoid bearing weight on injured joints and use your non-dominate hand to stabilize excessive motion.
- Ice – The number one way to reduce inflammation, ice should be applied in 20-minute increments to decrease swelling and slow blood flow to the affected area.
- Compression – Wrap your injury with a compressive sleeve to strengthen your fight against swelling and inflammation.
- Elevation – By elevating your injured limb and resting it on a pillow above your heart, it slows down the blood flow to the damaged tissue and prevents it from becoming further inflamed.
It might test your patience to RICE while betting on tennis matches from the couch, but taking a little time off now can help you avoid sitting out for much longer down the road should your injury worsen. Give it a few days before gradually putting it back to use with gentle stretches and limited activity—your future self will surely thank you.
Step #3: Turbo Charge Recovery Time with Special Supplements
Everyone knows they can pick up over-the-counter pain pills like Tylenol or Advil when they’re nursing a sports injury back to health, but fewer people are aware of the many specially formulated supplements designed to accelerate athlete’s recovery time, rather than just masking the painful problem with a temporary band aid.
For example, CBDfx gummies come in both men and women varieties so athletes of any gender can speed up their body’s natural healing process with formulas curated to their unique biochemistry. You can also find all-natural, homeopathic treatments for pain management at sites like iHerb that sell arnica, a member of the sunflower plant family known for its ability to reduce bruising. Collagen is another great supplement if you’re looking to strengthen the protein within your skin cells and repair joints faster.
Wrapping Up
Injuries can be beyond frustrating, but by following these three steps, you can get back to feeling at your best as soon as possible.
