Tennis

Relief of Aches and Pains and Injury Prevention
for Nantucket Tennis Players

Here are some thoughts on injuries faced by tennis players and suggest some ways that my exercise system, Synergetics, can help cut-down on injuries and help raise your level of play.

Many tennis injuries are caused by a lack of daily physical conditioning off the court, and not enough warm up before walking on the court. Synergetics and the PocketGym can condition you daily. Ideally, do Synergetics for 12-minutes twice a day and warm up with Synergetics for at least 6 minutes right before play and cool down for 6 minutes right after play. You may also find relief by massaging your joints with a heat lotion each night before bedtime -- this can make a big difference.

BACK PAIN: Tennis players are notoriously out of balance -- one side of the body is overdeveloped in comparison to the other, causing problems for your spine. Do you have the Quasimodo Syndrome? (one shoulder up, one shoulder down, even when you're relaxed?) This misalignment can actually pull your spine into a bow over time. Synergetics can help because it is a bi-lateral motion. You are using the muscles on both side of your spine to equalize your strength, balance your muscle mass, and realign your bone structure.

ACHILLES TENDON: Lack of shoe support, weak feet and leg structure can lead to injuries of your achilles tendon. The specific Synergetics exercises that can strengthen your ankle area are the Toe Step, Toe-Heel-Squeeze, Stepping Out and Cat Stretch. See the book and website for more information.
ROTATOR CUFF: Shoulders take much of the force of that swinging tennis racket. One awkward swing can damage your rotator cuff. It is important to keep the muscular structure around your rotator cuff strong to withstand the impact of playing tennis. If you have damage already, your shoulder needs rest and therapeutic exercise.

KNEE INJURY AND PAIN: If you carry excess weight, your knees are getting an even worse beating when you play tennis. It is important to reduce your weight with daily exercise. Synergetics twice a day can improve your metabolism's fat-burning mechanisms as well as keep your leg's muscle structure strong and resilient. I have found Far-Infrared knee wraps relieve a lot of the knee pain that I personally endure from a lifetime of injuries. You can also try supplements like Cetyl Myristoleate which can possibly help a lot of knee, joint and tissue problems.

TENNIS ELBOW: This is a tough one to prevent, but you can cut down on elbow inflammation by doing muscle-balancing exercises like Synergetics, to balance and strengthen your arms.
After it's all said and done, if you play tennis, you're going to get beat up… like getting married or playing the stock market. But you can cut your losses by daily maintaining and strengthening your body.
I've posted a tennis page on our website. Go to www.pocketgym.com. I would recommend you get the original Synergetics book, which has a chapter on Building Your Athletic Body, in addition to getting the PocketGym set, with its video and CD.

Make the most of your game!

Taylor Hay