Factors Influencing Short-Term Pain and Injuries in Tennis

Abstract

Pain, discomfort, and/or injuries in tennis can be influenced by the individual movement pattern and the external and/or internal boundary conditions. The influence of external boundary conditions on the occurrence of short-term pain was studied in a prospective study with 229 subjects. The boundary conditions investigated were shoe, temperature, type and length of game and subjective assessment of comfort, sole grip, and lateral stability Pain was reported by 40% of the 171 subjects included in the final analysis. It was frequently reported in the first two playing sessions but less frequently afterward. Discomfort was the dominant type of pain, accounting for 71.6% of all reported cases. The foot was the major site of pain (85%). The boundary conditions influencing pain were found to be the shoe (the more flexible shoe 1 had less pain than the suffer shoe 2), the type of game (competitive more than recreational), and the length of the game (longer playing sessions with more pain). Subjective assessment of comfort, sole grip, and lateral support also showed differences for the pain/no pain groups. Subjects who complained about these aspects were more frequently in the pain groups. The results show that the occurrence of pain in tennis can be influenced by various external boundary conditions.

The role of footwear in minimizing lower limb injury

“…Many of the injuries described above have been linked with footwear (Nigg et al, 1986). Consequently, athletic footwear has changed, the decade 1978-88 seeing the improvement of shock absorption and the introduction of features to enhance stability in footwear (Stacoff er al, 1988).…”

“…The bending stiffness (flexibility) of the sole is also an important feature (Todd, 1985) and research (Nigg et al, 1986) shows a reduced incidence of lower limb pain when a flexible soled shoe is worn. The torsional stiffness of a shoe can also affect rearfoot stability and some researchers (Stacoff er al., 1989) suggest that the forefoot and rearfoot be constructed independently from each other to allow torsional movement.…”

“…The amount of friction developed between the shoe and the running/playing surface can influence injuries and the rate at which they occur (Nigg et al, 1986). Two types of frictional coefficient are of interest: translational (i.e.…”

A study of the discomfort associated with tennis shoes

“…However, almost all studies that have focused on the relationship between a player' s health, fatigue and discomfort and the sport shoes worn have been epidemiological in nature. Few studies have looked at the athlete' s pain, discomfort or subjective perception of sport shoes after wearing them (Luethi and Nigg, 1985;Nigg et al, 1986).…”

Dynamic behaviour of soils used for natural turf sports surfaces

“…A too compliant surface can lead to early leg-muscle fatigue [16] while a stiffer surface can result in cartilage damage [17]. Surfaces should not only be considered in terms of the physical conditions that enable the player to perform effectively, but also as a platform to minimise excessive stress on the body, by, for example, reducing excessive traction and impact forces, both factors considered to be associated with comfort [1] and cause of injury [18].…”