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Common Tennis Conditions
General Medical
- Cramping
- Dehydration
- Breathing problems
- Cardiovascular screening
Junior/Adolescent Injuries
- Low back stress fractures - Junior tennis athletes should NOT ignore low back pain, as 40 percent of symptoms may be due to a low back stress injury and should be evaluated immediately. Early lesions may have good outcomes, but later stage injuries may have poor healing potential.
- Growth plate injuries
- Osgood-Schlatter disease
Shoulder
- Rotator cuff - The most common shoulder issues in adult or junior tennis players involve the rotator cuff. This can almost always be treated conservatively with proper rehabilitative methods and, sometimes, with on-court modifications when treated early. Junior players should also have their training evaluated further and should not typically require any intervention such as injections or surgery.
- Instability
- Labral tears
- Biceps tendon
Elbow
- Tennis elbow - 50 percent of adult tennis players will acquire tennis elbow, which is typically a chronic tendon degenerative problem. This should not be treated with isolated steroid injections but more innovative methods to improve tendon healing as well as addressing stroke mechanics since it usually involves the recreational player. It should rarely require any surgical treatments if addressed properly.
- Chronic tendinopathy
- PRP Therapy (platelet-rich plasma)
- Golfer’s elbow
- Ulnar collateral ligament
Hand/Wrist
- Ulnar wrist pain - Aggressive wrist motion in the dominant wrist on the forehand and the non-dominant wrist on the backhand are the most common causes of ulnar wrist pain (wrist pain on the side of the pinkie). Sometimes this may be a relatively simple tendonitis, but other times may involve a more serious cartilage injury. Proper medical treatment, with possible alterations in strokes, may help these conditions if identified early.
- Wrist tendonitis
- DeQuervain’s Tenosynovitis
- Ulnar collateral ligament
Spine (Back/Neck)
- Spondylolysis (low back stress fractures) - Junior tennis athletes should NOT ignore low back pain, as 40 percent of symptoms may be due to a low back stress injury and should be evaluated immediately. Early lesions may have good outcomes, but later stage injuries may have poor healing potential.
- Lumbar disc
- Cervical disc
- Sciatica or radiculopathy (pinched nerve)
- Back pain
Muscle Injuries/Muscle Cramping
- Hamstring
- Calf
- Quadriceps
- Groin
Hip/Groin
- Hip pain - Hip pain in the modern tennis game may be related to aggressive forehands. Sources of pain may include the joint, or the muscles supporting the joint. Joint-related issues may be complex and a proper evaluation of groin or hip pain in a tennis player may be necessary.
- Groin strains
- Hip labral tears
- Osteitis pubis
- Sports hernia
- Arthritis
Leg
- Calf strains
- Stress fractures
- Shin splints
- Exertional leg pain
