By Mary Ringel
Tennis Talk 2022-08-18
Muscle Health
I was playing tennis five days a week when my back warned me to back off a little, no pun intended. When I would run for a ball or use my backhand slice, I experienced a debilitating spasm in the left side of my low back, “ouch.” I couldn’t bring myself to let my partner down so I would “suck it up,” put on my Velcro back brace and continue, but I proceeded with caution and made shots that were less fluid. This continued for months and got worse as days went by.
So, I took time off to rehabilitate my back and started a challenging weight training program to target the abdominal (core) muscles. The saying goes “strong core – strong back.” I used an online program called “Hammer and Chisel” by Beachbody.com. At this writing, I’m happy to say I can play a game and also stand or sit for hours pain-free.
As a certified massage therapist, I can tell you that pain signals are the body’s way to get your attention so that you can fix the problem. If you have pain and don’t know how to do weight training correctly, first, hire a personal trainer. They will be able to determine which muscles are weak, and start you on a program to strengthen the weak muscles, which will also counter stretch the overused muscles. The trainer will demonstrate good form and teach you how to challenge the weaker muscles, which is critical to getting your body back in shape.
Muscles, however, get accustomed to the same demands every day so we need to challenge them by increasing the resistance and cross training, i.e., work different muscle groups. Swim, do Yoga, walk, dance, have fun in different ways. It is equally important to relax the muscles. A minimum of 10 minutes of stretching each day after playing will make a difference in how you feel throughout the day, how well you sleep at night, and even how you feel the next day. Let’s do more for our bodies to experience the best years of our lives!