Are Chronic Tennis Injuries Inevitable, or Preventable?

If you've fallen in love with tennis, you're likely all-to-familiar with the chronic pain and injury that comes with regular play.

You do your best to play with pain, change rackets, wear a brace, take regular breaks, and even go to a physical therapist, and while these actions often fix the problem, the injuries inevitably return.

But are these injuries truly inevitable? I used to think so, but I'm not so sure anymore.

In developing Gravity Tennis, I sought to find a lower-impact means of generating racket head speed, and in the process, much of the unnecessary tension that went into my game was eliminated. As I passed this knowledge to my students, I noticed that those who were suffering from these chronic injuries were quite helped. In fact, one student became so relaxed that his elbow-brace fell off! He has played pain and injury free (and without the brace) for the last three years.   

It makes sense that excess tension increases the chance of chronic injury. Smaller joints like the wrist and elbow are not meant to be overly relied upon to accelerate or decelerate a racket. Chronic squeezing creates constant tension on the muscles, while vulnerable parts of the body are over-taxed and eventually broken down.

The more you use momentum to your advantage, the more you relax, the less likely you will be to develop a chronic injury. And if you already suffer from one, all of the therapeutic methods in the world won't address the root cause of your injury, your technique.

In case you haven't already, I highly recommend you download my completely-free 8-point relaxation checklist at GravityTennis.com. It will help you get on your way to playing with less relaxation, which in turn will put less unnecessary strain on your muscles, and hence help you either prevent or reduce the impact of long-term chronic stress injuries.

Tennis is your passion, but don't be fooled into thinking that you must sacrifice your body in order to participate. 

Here's to your pain and injury free tennis career.

Best,

Scott