Shoulder Impingement Syndrome in Tennis Players
Shoulder pain is one of the most common physical complaints faced by tennis players. Consisting of several joints combined with tendons and muscles, the shoulder enables a great range of motion and strength in the arm, but we ask a lot of this complex structure, particularly in tennis. The dreaded rotator cuff tear is most feared, but seemingly less serious conditions, such as tendonitis, bursitis and shoulder impingement can take a tennis player off his or her game, and ultimately out of the game if not diagnosed correctly, treated properly, and allowed the appropriate time to heal.
Activities that require repeated overhead arm movements, such as overhand tennis serves, can often bring about injury to the shoulder that irritate and cause inflammation.
Dynamic instability (loosening) of the shoulder, typically caused over time by repetitive overhead activity, trauma, previous injury, poor posture, or inactivity can cause your rotator cuff to work harder, causing injury. Training too hard is a common cause of overuse injury to the shoulder.
Overuse injuries can vary from mild tendon inflammation (tendonitis), bursitis (inflamed bursa), shoulder impingement (pinching and irritation of the soft tissues or against bone), calcific tendonitis (bone forming within the tendon) through to partial and full thickness rotator cuff tendon tears.
OrthoAtlanta orthopedic surgeon, Snehal C. Dalal, MD, describes a condition known as Shoulder Impingement Syndrome, including common symptoms, examination and testing, non-surgical and surgical treatment options, including arthroscopic surgery and traditional open surgery in an article appearing in ALTA Net News, the official magazine of the Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association, Inc.
Read the full article, Shoulder Impingement Syndrome, by Snehal C. Dalal, MD, that appeared in the July/August 2018 issue of ALTA Net News Magazine print and online.
Learn more about OrthoAtlanta orthopedic surgeon, Snehal C. Dalal, MD, a specialist in hand and upper extremity surgery.