Most Common Injuries in Tennis

In every 1000 tennis matches played research found out that there are around 54 injuries occur during those matches, which is half as many those injuries occur during the same matches played in soccer.   There is also less risk of injury during tennis compared with individual sports like running and golf.  These injury can be prevented if you understand some of the most common injuries that can occur in your tennis matches and build your strategy to avoid such injuries.

First of all is Tennis Elbow
-Tennis elbow is where inflammation of the muscles and tendons of the forearm as they attached to the upper arm bone.  this inflammation is caused by ex. hammering,weight lifting,playing certain musical instruments,canoeing,digging in the garden, driving and in racket sports.
Tennis elbow cause pain when the outermost part of the elbow is touched and also if you move your hand forward at the back wrist. The pain is worsen by gripping activities and in some cases opening doors can cause intense pain as you turn the door handle.
-- In Preventing Tennis Elbow you should carefully choose racket that has the right size of grip that fits you, if it is too small or too big for you it will cause you to hold the grip too hard. Gripping too hard or too long to the racket can cause you tennis elbow, before playing or getting into a strenuous activities, make sure you take a regular breaks and stretch the muscles which work over by doing 'limp wrist' and some stretching.

 Ankle Sprain
-Sprain is very common in jury in tennis players. Tennis basic movement in court like sideways movement, sudden sideways movement can cause your ankle to twist, specifically if the surface is slippery or player is fatigued.
A twisted ankle caused harm to ligaments and soft tissues around the ankle, swollen ankle that is very painful.
--In preventing Ankle Sprain using ankle brace can help to reduce the injury and it's a strategy that is employed by many tennis pros.  Research shows that injury incidence in people with ankle brace was 4.9 ankle sprain per 1000 participants matches, compared to 32.8 ankle sprain per 1000 participant matches in subjects that had no taping or bracing.

Shoulder Pain

-Shoulder Pain occur in players for its repeated stress during racket strokes, specially during serve.  there are many sources of this injury in tennis players, but most common causes is Shoulder Bursitis(inflammation of a sac of fluid called a Bursa).
Frequent overuse of the Rotator Cuff muscles can cause the Bursa to get 'impinged' between the muscles and the bony prominence of the shoulder, causing the inflammation.  This can result to pain where the arm is raised.
--For players attention must be more on its flexibility, endurance and strength of the muscles. Players should exercise under the supervision of a chartered physiotherapist can also help to prevent impingement.  In training it must be gradual so as not to overload the shoulder.  The repetition of service action shouyld be increase gradually to allow the body to adapt to increase work load.

Stress Fracture of the back

-Stress fracture or lumbar spine, is one of the most common bone injuries tennis players.  Lower back stress fracture can be pain free.  Typically it is sore when the player with this type of injury bends backward, particularly if standing on one leg.  If a lower back stress fracture is suspected, a docter may decide to refer the patient for a scan to confirm the diagnosis.
--Practicing service should be carefully monitored to ensure the lower back is not being overloaded.  Serving in tennis requires a combination of spinal hyperextension together with rotation and side bending of the trunk.  This put a lot of stress on the area of the vertebra and its were this stress fracture develops.  Core stability exercises can help to prevent such back problems in tennis players.

Calf Strain
-Calf Strain it consist of muscle group Gastrocnemius, Soleus and Plantaris muscles, situated at the back of the lower leg.  Their function is to pull up on the heel bone and these muscles are most active during the push-off when a tennis player has to move quickly to react to an opponent's shot.  A strain occurs when the muscles is forcibly stretched beyond its limits and the muscle tissue becomes torn.
--Food Diet can have an affect on muscle injuries.  If a tennis player's diet is high ion carbohydrate in the 48 hours before a match there will be an adequate supply of the energy that is necessary for muscle contraction.
However, if muscles become short of fuel, fatigue can set, especificaly during long matches.  this fatigue can prompt a player to injury.  Carbohydrates and fluid can be replenished during matches by taking regular sips of sports drink between games.

Tips on holding a paint brush to get better stoke.

-The best way to hold your brush when painting is to hold it near the end of the handle, in this way you have a little more space and give you a better view of what you are doing in the canvas.

-If you need more of control(ex. painting in details.,), you have to hold the brush near the head of the brush., or much better to have your own feel or create you comfort zone in holding the brush. There is no technique or style in holding your brush, just practice and it will develop it self.

-Style can acquire through time, while techniques is in a matter of practice. The manner in which you become fluent in theses techniques actually became a part of your own unique style.

A brushstroke generally implies four separate actions:

* Cleaning the Brush - The main thing to remember here is to always pull your brush, never push it. This reduces wear and also shapes the hairs of the brush.

* Shaping the Brush - If you clean a brush correctly it should be shaped and ready to go. However, for delicate work (e.g., thin lines) you can chisel-shape the brush. That is, you hold the brush at a 45 degree angle to your horizontal palette, push down on it, and then slightly forward. The brush tip should now have a straight chisel-like edge.

* Loading the Brush - Now you can load the brush with paint in several ways. Shovel-loading a brush means lowering it onto your palette and pushing it at a low angle into a pile of paint. The paint is only on one side of the brush.

* Application of the Paint - A shovel-loaded brush makes precise strokes of varying thicknesses and almost functions as a writing tool.

A tip-loaded brush can be held perpendicular to the canvas and, while lightly touching the canvas, create very thin lines.

A pull-loaded brush is useful to create run of the mill strokes that don't require too much precision.

A body-loaded brush is good for applying impasto strokes and heavy highlights. Impasto is a painting style in which the paint is laid-on very thickly.

Much more can be said about this but just remember, the ease with which you apply brushstrokes depends on how you load your brush.

Mixing Art's in to Tennis: Pros & Cons using Acrylic Paints

Mixing Art's in to Tennis: Pros & Cons using Acrylic Paints: "As in all painting, the acrylic paint technique has benefits and drawbacks. The good things are that: * It is easily dilu..."

Pros & Cons using Acrylic Paints

As in all painting, the acrylic paint technique has benefits and drawbacks. The good things are that:

    * It is easily diluted with water, so there's no need for special thinners

    * Brushes are cleaned with soap and water

    * By and large you use the same brushes and knives as with oil paints, so you don't need to re-invest in this area

    * If you prefer however, an increasing range of 'acrylic-specific' brushes is coming on the market which gives you extra options

    * It dries fast - often within minutes - unlike oils which can take weeks or even months

    * Once dry, you can instantly put additional layers on top without ever muddying the ones below -as can happen with watercolor paints

    * You can paint on a wide range of surfaces including art canvas, watercolor and other types of specially formulated oil and acrylic paper, wood, various types of board - or even use your room walls as large murals!

    * Colors change very little from their wet to dry state - unlike watercolors - so the strength of colour you see first is what you end up with

    * It washes off clothes and carpets when wet, just by using soap and water

    * There is no solvent-type smell, as there is with oils and turpentine

    * Thinned acrylic paint makes an excellent underpainting if you're using oils

However, like all paintng mediums, there are downsides  when using acrylic paint. These are mainly around one of its main virtues... its quick drying properties. Here are some things you need to consider:

    * Drying so quickly makes it difficult to subtly blend paint, as you can with oils - when painting a cloudy sky or portraits for example

    * You have to keep all your brushes moist as you are painting. Never let them dry with acrylic paint on the bristles or you'll end up with a nice-looking set of short garden canes.

    * Paint which dries on the blade of a palette knife is very hard to get off. This can leave a film which may adversely affect the ability of the knife to make a smooth mark

    * You need a special palette to stop your paints drying out as well. These aren't cheap for what they are. (However, read the article on acrylic paint techniques to find out how to easily make one for next to nothing)

    * If acrylic paint dries on carpets, clothes etc, you'll be lucky to get the stain off. So wear old clothes and/or cover the table and floor with an old cloth!

    * If there's any grease on the painting surface, acrylics will not adhere, unlike oil paints.

    * Acrylic paint tends to be quietly abrasive and soon takes its toll on softer brushes. Try using it with a small nylon 00 watercolor brush, for example, and you'll be lucky to get more than two or three good sessions out of it

    * If acrylic paint gets inside the ferrule and dries it's almost impossible to get out without damaging the brush hairs. What then happens is the dried paint makes the bristles spread and the brush loses much of its value as a quality tool

    * Don't leave the tops off tubes of acrylic paint, the contents will go rock hard in no time. If this happens, you throw them away. Full stop

    * Some brands of acrylic paint have small tops on the tubes. They are extremely difficult to get off as the paint dries in the threads.

    * If you have problems gripping small items, you may want to choose tubes which have large caps - or buy a good pair of pliers!

    * Acrylic paint is a close cousin of PVA glue and as such, quite an effective, if somewhat colourful, adhesive.

Backhand tips

- Effective Backhand Slice

An effective slice can add some much-needed variety to your game.

In today's game, and you see it all the time at the professional leve, players are most comfortable when they’re in a routine of hammering balls back and forth. They like to exchange shots hit from their strike zones, which is between thigh and chest height, and use some degree of topspin on a majority of shots. You can be successful playing this style, but it makes your game pretty predictable. If you work a dependable slice into your repertoire, though, you’ll add some variety to your attack.

A slice is effective for many reasons. If you’re stretched wide, the slice can be a safe, defensive shot that will get you back in the point. When hit as a rally ball, the backspin slows the pace of the shot and keeps the ball low and out of your opponent’s strike zone. And when you’re inside the court, you can be more aggressive with the slice by driving a deep, low, skidding shot that you can follow to net. It’s also the spin you need to be successful with volleys and drop shots. Here’s a quick lesson on the slice for all skill levels.

BEGINNER

OBJECTIVE: Learn the proper swing path and keep your wrist firm.

When players first learn the slice, they sometimes start by drastically swinging down on the ball. Although the basic motion is from high to low (opposite of the low to high you’re first taught for your ground strokes) and back to high, it’s actually fairly subtle. If you hack down severely on the ball, you may put a great deal of underspin on it, but the resulting shot will float and have little pace, penetration, or consistency. You never want to lose that feeling of hitting through the ball. The other thing to stress is keeping your wrist firm. Many players snap or flip their wrists, trying to get pace and spin on the ball, and end up suffering the same problems as those who chop down when they swing.

For a penetrating slice, use a swing that moves gradually from high to low and back to high. This way you hit through the ball instead of chopping at it.

In fact, the swing path of the slice is almost parallel to the court. One way to think of the motion is to compare it to that of a karate chop. You start with your arm bent, and you straighten it out toward contact with a gradual reduction from high to low, keeping a slightly open racquet face. That way you’re still driving the racquet through contact.

INTERMEDIATE

OBJECTIVE: Incorporate your bigger muscles into the shot and learn to cup the ball.

Players who use their whole bodies when they swing are generally more consistent with their strokes. Take the serve as an example: A player who gets good body rotation and uses his shoulders and legs is going to have a more effective serve than someone who just uses his arm. Using the big muscle groups will sustain consistency for the course of the match, whereas using only the smaller ones will cause fatigue (which will lead to inconsistency). With the slice, it’s no different.

To better control the ball’s flight path and add pace to your slice, cup the outside edge of the ball. If you cup the inside, the ball will float with sidespin.

At this point in your development, you understand the proper swing plane of the slice. You can repeatedly use good technique, but if you’re relying on your arm and hand to power the shot, your slice will never have adequate bite or penetration, and late in a match, when you get tired, it could break down. So stepping into the slice with your legs and stretching your arms out (with your hitting arm moving toward the contact point and your off arm behind you) will involve your quads, chest, and back—your best power sources.

Besides using your whole body to hit the slice, you also need to have good feel and control. That’s where “cupping” the ball begins to become important. When you cup the ball, you cut under and around the outside edge of it. If you’re a right-hander, you’re trying to cup the left corner of the ball (the opposite corner for lefties). This helps control the flight path and adds zip to the shot.

If you hit the inside part of the ball, that means your wrist is ahead of the racquet face, which will result in more sidespin than backspin on the shot. It takes great talent to control this type of slice because the ball has a tendency to sail. Cupping the outside of the ball is a much more reliable technique.

ADVANCED

OBJECTIVE: Develop your shot awareness and begin to use your slice as a weapon.

As I’ve mentioned, slice affords a player variety because there are several different ways in which you can hit it. At this level, you can call upon all your options, and understanding your positioning and status in the point will help you determine which slice to use. For example, being on the dead run and far behind the baseline would call for a defensive slice. In an even backhand rally from the baseline, you may choose to use the slice as a change of pace to throw your opponent off. And inside the court, you can move forward and use your slice to attack. This is what I call shot awareness— having a clear grasp of what’s coming at you and what shot to use in response. From this perspective, you can use your slice to create openings by getting your opponent out of position. For example, if you’re in a backhand crosscourt rally and you get a ball that lands short, hit a deep, skidding slice down the line to open up the court. Or from the same position you can carve a short, sharp angle that forces your opponent up and wide into an uncomfortable position— almost like a drop shot, but with more pace and less arc. If your opponent has to attack off that, you’ll have a good look at a passing shot. And if he tries to retreat to the baseline, you’ll have an opening on his forehand side. Players with versatile slices, like Roger Federer and Tim Henman, often use this tactic against clay-courters who are leery of coming to net.

During a backhand rally, a sharply angled slice can throw off your opponent’s rhythm by drawing him off the baseline and wide of the court.


 Basic Backhand Shot:

Step 1.  Racket back eye's on the ball.

Step2. Point and Prepare, point the butt of Racket towards the ball.

Step3. Always keep eye's on the ball at the point of contact, always been knee when hitting the ball.

Final Step. Make your follow through perfect this gives your shot more accurate, complete your follow thr

Trouble with topspin?

-Here’s a simple and effective way to deal with it.

PROBLEM
You have difficulty applying topspin to the ball because you instinctively swing from high to low. It’s particularly common with beginners who equate the motion with hitting a baseball. The resulting shots are slices or flat balls that you have little control over.

For some players, it’s natural to swing from high to low (from shoulder to knee). As a result they can’t apply topspin to their shots.

SOLUTION
To introduce the concept of swinging from low to high, I’ve had success using my old racquet the aluminum one. Stand in front of the court net about half of your raquet length with your racquet back, holding that position. Have someone face while gripping your racquet firmly by the handle. Now swing the racquet and brush up on with the net take note that always bend your knees when swinging your raquet. If the motion is too level or high-to-low, your raquet will get stuck in the top of the net. But when your swing along the net surface to continue your follow through you’ve got the proper swinging motion needed to apply topspin to the ball. You’ll also improve your extension and follow through. It’s a great way to “clean up” a messy topspin stroke....

**if you can build a structure like this one, you can practice your stroke at home.... good luck with your killer top spin.