Tennis is awesome, but there are a few injuries that will always be lurking. Mostly, tennis injuries come based upon the quick stops and starts of the game. Add in twisted ankles rolled over when attempting to stop on a dime (or a service line?) and you’ve got an unlucky 5 common tennis injuries and how long they can take to recover from can help players better plan their return to the sport.

1. Tennis elbow – You knew this one was going to be on the list. It has tennis right there in the name. The medical name for tennis elbow is lateral epicondylitis. This injury occurs when the tendons that attach the forearm muscles to the elbow become stretched or damaged. Symptoms include pain and tenderness on the outer part of the elbow, as well as weakness in the affected arm. You will feel it a lot when you do daily activities that require you to turn your arm over. Things like opening a jar, or even shutting your car door. If it’s really bad, you might even feel pain when checking your watch. (If this is happening to you, switch your watch to the other hand until your arm feels better.) Tennis elbow can be caused by overuse, improper technique, or a lack of strength in the forearm muscles. Recovery time for tennis elbow can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months. Rest, ice, ibuprofen– not Tylenol or acetaminophen– and physical therapy can help to alleviate symptoms and speed up the healing process. If you have access to a hot tub, use it.
2. Rotator cuff injuries are another common injury among tennis players. The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons that help to stabilize the shoulder joint. Injuries can occur due to overuse, improper technique, or a lack of strength in the shoulder muscles. Symptoms include pain and weakness in the shoulder, as well as limited range of motion. Recovery time for rotator cuff injuries can vary depending on the severity of the injury, but it can take several weeks to several months to fully heal.
3. Groin strains are another common injury among tennis players. Starting hard in one direction and then going hard in the other direction is bad enough, but sometimes you change your mind in mid movement and that asks too much of the groin muscels. The muscles in the groin area help to stabilize the hip joint, and overuse or improper technique can lead to strains. Symptoms include pain and tenderness in the groin area, as well as limited range of motion. Recovery time for groin strains can vary, but it can take several weeks to several months to fully heal. Icing a groin injury can be tricky, but it helps. So do hot soaks and over the counter pain relievers.
4. Stress fractures are another common injury among tennis players. Stress fractures occur when the bones in the foot or leg become weakened and then develop a small crack under the stress of repetitive motions. Symptoms include pain and tenderness in the affected area, as well as swelling and stiffness. Recovery time for stress fractures can vary depending on the severity of the injury, but it can take several weeks to several months to fully heal. Unfortunately, these kinds of fractures often do not benefit from casts, so you just have to be careful and tough it out.
5. Ankle sprains are super common (duh). The ankle is a complex joint that is susceptible to sprains when the ligaments that hold it in place are stretched or torn. Most of the time, you know you did it exactly when it happens. Rolled ankles can send you sprawling to the court in pain. Others just need to be walked off. Recovery time for ankle sprains can be weeks or months to heal. Ankles don’t have much of a blood flow and that means slow healing. Ice it to send a bit of extra blood. Ankles are seldom broken, but the ligaments and tendons that hold them up can get all kinds of injuries.

How To Prevent the Top 5 Tennis Injuries

You’ll notice a lot of repetitive stress injuries and pulled muscles above. It’s no shock. Few sports require you to do the same motion over and over again for hours, and tennis also requires sudden starts and stops on a hard surface.

On the other hand, tennis is not a contact sport, so concussions and head injuries are uncommon. While you’re working on your tennis game, keep the following in mind.

The good news is that preventing tennis injuries is easy. You just have to do the work. Tight muscles are strained muscles waiting to happen. Stretch a little, and warm up gently. Pregame is not the time to show off your moves. The trick is that stretching before a game only warms your muscles up. It doesn’t strengthen them. For that, you need to stretch and use your muscles on a regular basis away from the court.

You don’t need anything fancy. Lunges, windmills, a few push-ups, along with a basic stretching regime every day is all it really takes to keep your body limber.

In the end, the advice is the same as it always is, rest and lots of liquids. If it feels too wrong or doesn’t get better, check in with a doctor. You probably need a checkup anyway.

Racket People is a fan website of the games played with rackets. Check with a doctor before starting any exercise or training routine. Get out there and play some sport.