Got a sore shoulder?

Published: 24 Nov 2004 - 21:53 by rippa rit

Updated: 24 Mar 2008 - 16:55

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It is hard not to get injuries to your shoulder if you play a racket sport, as the action of the swing can become very repetitive. Shoulder injuries can be hard to get right, and often the problem recurs. Some food for thought:

The shoulder joint is a ball and socket and any muscle imbalance will reflect problems in the joint.
A swing with a stiff or pushing action tends to put pressure on the shoulder joint. The power should be generated by the forearm rotation/pronation.
Hitting the ball late, after the ball has gone past the body, can put strain on the shoulder joint, as the arm flings out to reach and hit the ball.
A personalised gym program will certainly help general body balance and strength.

My story: Technique can play a big part on a recurring injury as I personally found out. How? What happened to me?

On the backhand drive, my team mates would say "hit the ball harder".
So I really practised this long and hard prior to an Australian Championship.
But all I got was a very tender shoulder. Why? And, I discovered it myself:-

....In the preparation for a hard drive I tried to get a "full" backswing (to get as much swing behind the ball as possible).
In doing so, I did not flex my hips and drop the shoulder, and that was the reason for the lack of swing/power, and all I was doing was pushing my arm around my body to increase the swing, but instead I was putting strain on the joint.
It sounds simple now.