Tennis: a sport for all ages
Written by:Until about twenty years ago, tennis in Italy was considered an elite sport, practiced mostly in private clubs. In recent years, however, the construction of public facilities has helped to increase the number of fans of this sport. Dr.. Giampiero De Marzi, an expert in psychiatry and Sports Medicine , reveals things to know in order to try their hand at this sport
Because tennis is a sport for all ages?
The game is played with an alternation of phases, which is followed by a short stop and, hereinafter, the exchange field. This alternation of competitive stages and rest makes this sport is well suited to be practiced consistently for all ages.
To benefit from it both physically and mentally, though, you need to follow the correct behavior before, during and after the game, even if you practice only amateur. The most common errors are:
- Do not perform an adequate heating.
- Running in the locker room as soon as the game ends.
- Stop the activity for long periods of time and then resume playing without specific physical preparation.
The tennis requires, however, the psycho-physical characteristics, such as a good basic physical preparation, high resilience, a good motor coordination and joint mobility. From the psychological point of view, however, it is important the ability to concentrate, the control of emotions and a good game intelligence.
How to approach the courts?
The initiation into the court must be under the guidance of qualified instructors, to avoid acquiring bad settings in the handle of the racket and execution of movements. These habits are difficult to eliminate, are responsible for most of the specific conditions of this game.
There is no age limit to start playing tennis. It would be good, however, to wait for 8-9 years, that is, the accretion period weight and maturation of the nervous system. The court, in fact, is an asymmetrical sport, in which one half of the body works harder than the other. A practical exasperated, especially if the age of development, may lead to physical abnormalities, such as an asymmetric development of the shoulder, pectoral muscles, arm, forearm and hand, as well as to possible deviations of the spinal column.
The important thing is to not create expectations of the typical "child prodigy" syndrome in children less gifted, and feeding frenzies competitive in the most promising children.
What are the risks of tennis?
If practiced correctly and consistently, tennis is one of the sports most ever with the lowest number of accidents. When excluding accidental trauma, the causes of injuries are attributed to overexertion or bad attitudes of the arm and forearm. The most frequent diseases are the "tennis elbow" or lateral epicondylitis, and "tennis leg."
The tennis elbow is a tendinopathy due to continuous micro-traumas in the articulation load, caused, for example, by excessive internal rotation of the wrist and elbow extension. The pain is localized to the height of the bone of the elbow boss and radiating along the forearm muscles, arm and shoulder.
The tennis leg is a painful condition dependent calf, typical of the later players with age. It is an abrupt and momentary displacement muscle or tendon of the calf twins, which may occur during one shutter. The pain is sharp and you feel the sensation of a blow from the outside.
Less frequent is the rupture of the Achilles tendon, again following sharp shots taken cold, and talalgia, or pain localized to the heel bone.
The tennis diet
The first recommendation is to not take the field immediately after a meal or when you have not eaten for several hours. Being practiced mostly during the warm seasons, sweating is very abundant: it is advisable to drink small sips of water, not ice, with salt-vitamin integrators in the intervals of the game.
Editor Karin Moscow