Table Tennis is a very risk-free sport in comparison to football, baseball and cricket, i.e, there are negligible chances of hurting oneself.
However, still, you can injure yourself, and sometimes the wound though not visible, is a lot more serious. This sport demands the use of reflexes in coordination with your strength and strategy.
Muscle stress and strain is the most common injury players experience while playing this sport. The other common injuries include tennis elbow, shoulder injury, calf strain, sprained ankle, etc.
Tennis Elbow: In medical terms, it is known as lateral epicondylitis. The injury marks with inflammation of elbow and muscle attached to it. Players may feel the pain of stretching arm and is experienced on the lateral side of the elbow. Primarily caused by overusing muscles and tendons of the forearm or failure of backhand shots. A good work out can also help minimize the chances of elbow injuries.
Calf Strain: This is the result of excessive use of calf muscles without taking rests. Standing too long, jumping, or walking can cause strain in players’ calf muscles. Exercising and proper warm-up techniques can reduce the risk of getting calf muscles strained.
Ankle and Wrist Sprain: Sprains in ankles and wrist are mostly familiar to many people, especially table tennis players. However, sometimes these are serious and spontaneous. It takes a lot of time to heal and sometimes may result in you dropping out of the tournament. Usually, uncoordinated movements, a sudden twist or turn, cause a sprain in the ankle, which harms the soft tissues and ligaments surrounding the ankle.
Shoulder Injury: The shoulders of a TT player are more likely to experience pain and have an injury. This is because the shoulders experience a variety of movements during the game. The injury is because of swelling of the rotator cuff and the attached tendons.
Tennis Elbow, Calf Strain, Racquet Injuries Etc: This type of injury is mainly caused while playing doubles i.e, sharing the court with a partner. The injuries are due to one player hitting the other (accidentally while playing a game) with a racket. This can range from the soft patch on the body parts to severe blows on the face. TT paddles are made of wood, and hence it can cause painful blows.
The most important thing to remember is that even if you get moderately or severely injured, you should give some space and time for the body to recover and heal completely before blowing hard strokes on the opponent. Moreover, one can decrease the risk of injuries by exercising regularly and warming- up before playing.
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