Tennis – what can we say? We love it! It’s fun, it gets the heart pumping as a full body workout and it’s enjoyed by the whole family. Tennis injuries however – not so fun. Often when we think of injuries in tennis we think of tennis elbow and injuries to the upper body, but in reality there is just as much risk to your feet and legs too. Tennis involves quick side to side motion, quick starts and stops and is played on a variety of surfaces, some of which can be pretty tough on your feet.

Because we believe knowledge and understanding is essential to injury prevention, we thought we’d share some common tennis injuries we regularly see here at Sole Motion Podiatry so you can recognise the risks and prevent them before they occur – or get in quick to get them sorted before they progress to anything worse!

Here are our top 5:

1. Ankle Sprains

Ankle Sprains are our number one in tennis! The fast side to side movements and quick changes in direction means that there’s a significant risk of your foot suddenly rolling inwards and of you sustaining an inversion ankle sprain. You’ll feel your foot roll in, the outside of your ankle will move toward the ground and pain and swelling will follow.

Tip: This is where wearing shoes that adequately support your ankle can make a big difference! Make sure you have the right shoes for your feet.

2. Stress Fractures

Stress fractures occur after repetitive stress (excess pressure) is placed on an area of the foot to the point where it is overloaded and injury occurs. Unlike a traditional fracture, stress fractures appear more like small hairlines in the bone (and because of this, may take weeks to appear on x-rays). In tennis, stress fractures typically occur on the metatarsals (the long bones of the foot). You’ll feel pain at the forefoot that may have more of a gradual onset than an out-of-the-blue sharp pain as the damage and stress builds up over time and with repeated activity.

Tip: Make sure your shoes have some form of padding at the forefoot – if not, you can see your podiatrist to assess whether something in your shoe could help, or get a recommendation for a tennis shoe. Because stress fractures build up over time, pay attention to any niggles and small pains in your feet – if left untreated these can become worse over time and as they worsen, your recovery period grows longer!

3. Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis describes damage to and inflammation of the plantar fascia – a tissue that runs from your heel to your toes and helps to support your arch. High impact activities involving running and jumping (like tennis!) can stress and overload the fascia to the point of damage. Certain biomechanics factors, such as flat feet, and other factors, such as a hard playing surface, can exacerbate the stress on the fascia. Plantar fasciitis feels like pain at your heel on walking, particularly the first few steps after resting and in the morning.

Tip: If you feel this kind of heel pain developing, come in and see your podiatrist as soon as possible. Conditions like plantar fasciitis progressively worsen if they’re not effectively managed. An inflamed fascia can quickly progress to a tear in the fascia or even a complete rupture. Addressing it earlier gets you back on your feet quickly without needing to take extensive measures for recovery and healing.

4. Tennis Toe

Tennis toe describes the damage that occurs to the toenails while playing tennis. While typically this describes the bruising and bleeding beneath the nail (subungal haematoma) from the foot repeatedly and abruptly hitting the shoe, we additionally see a fair amount of blisters, callous and corns too. While these may seem fairly superficial, they are nonetheless painful and will likely keep occurring (and causing you pain) unless you address the cause – which is often the tennis shoes.

Tip: When buying tennis shoes, try them on in the afternoons after walking around so that your feet are slightly swollen. This will reduce the risk of the shoes being too tight after some action on the court and rubbing on your toes.

5. Shin Splints

Shin splints describe pain at the front of the shins (tibia) that is clinically known as medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS). A number of factors can cause either stress and micro-tears at the muscles at the front of the leg or a bending force on the shin bone itself. These factors range from poor technique and foot biomechanics to tight muscles. Pain develops at the front of the shins with potential swelling too.

Tip: Stretch, stretch, stretch! Before and after the game, especially when you know you have tight muscles as many of us do. This can do wonders for reducing the risk of shin splints and many other muscular injuries. Because pain from shin splints can continue for long periods if not treated effectively, it’s important to be assessed by your podiatrist to reduce the risk of worsening the injury.

All in all, we definitely recommend tennis as a great sport to get involved in! Don’t forget to do your stretches before and after playing, make sure you’ve got the right shoes, go out there, and most importantly – have FUN! If you have any concerns or pains, want advice on picking the right shoe or want to work on your technique, come in and see our expert team! We’d love to help you play at your best and stay injury-free! Give us a call today on 1300-FX-FEET.