Beware of ＂golf elbow＂ when playing badminton.
Topic: picture channel
▲ Be sure to do a good warm-up exercise before playing badminton. (data picture)
Play badminton
Watch out for the "golf elbow"
Experts remind: Pulling the ball, saving the ball and swinging too hard can all cause joint and muscle injuries.
The second in a series of reports on "Sports Clinic"
Since he fell in love with the "civilian sport" badminton, Xiao Zhou’s physical strength and mental state are much better than before. However, after a period of enthusiastic practice, he has always felt a dull pain in his elbow recently. When he went to the hospital for a check-up, he was suffering from "aristocratic disease"-"golf elbow"! Wang Wen, an expert in sports medicine, warned that incorrect hitting posture and insufficient warm-up when playing badminton can lead to various injuries to wrists, elbows and shoulders of upper limbs. Generally, tennis elbow is well known, but in fact, such as golf elbow, head-mortar impact syndrome and articular cartilage tear may also be caused by improper badminton exercise.
Text/Reporter Lei Kun, Shi Shanwei
Correspondent Cui Yanling
Medical Guidance/Wang Wen, Deputy Chief Physician of Orthopedic Surgery and Doctor of Sports Medicine, Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital
Improper playing posture can easily lead to five kinds of injuries.
Playing backhand: Cartilage tears easily.
When playing badminton, whether it is hitting, smashing or hanging, picking, pushing, pouncing and hooking, the wrist is required to have basic backward extension and abduction movements. With the different technical essentials, the wrist will quickly straighten and flash the whip to hit the ball or from backward extension to adduction, internal rotation and flashing to cut the ball. In this case, the weak link of the wrist, the triangular cartilage disc, will be continuously rotated and squeezed, which is particularly easy to cause damage.
"Some people are good at playing backhand, which is especially prone to the tearing of the triangular cartilage of the wrist joint." Wang Wen said that if you rotate your wrist inward, you will feel pain when you twist it, and sometimes it will be accompanied by clicking. This is the symptom of tearing the triangular cartilage of your wrist. When the articular triangular cartilage is injured, if the pain is not so severe, it is recommended to rest for a few days first. If the pain is not reduced or aggravated, you should see a doctor.
Frequent "killing the ball": be alert to shoulder injuries.
Badminton can also cause shoulder injuries. Shoulder joint is the joint between upper limb and trunk, and it is the joint with the largest range of human activities. Wang Wen said that common shoulder injuries in badminton include tear of glenoid cartilage, thickening of joint capsule and "shoulder impingement" and so on.
The glenoid lip is the cartilage tissue in the shoulder joint, which is connected with the joint capsule and ligament, and the tightness of the joint capsule determines the range of motion of the shoulder. Incorrect posture and excessive force when trying to kill the ball may lead to tearing of the glenoid lip. There is a typical symptom of labrum tear, that is, it doesn’t hurt, but it hurts when you lift your shoulder, and you can hear a click in the joint. Some white-collar workers usually sit still and don’t even know that their joints are injured. They don’t go to play until the weekend, and when they lift their shoulders, they feel badly hurt, only to realize that they are injured. Wang Wen pointed out that a slight tear of the labia minora can be cured by itself after a few days’ rest, but it always hurts or makes a noise when it moves, so you should see a doctor. Frequent swing hitting may also lead to the thickening of the joint capsule at the back of the shoulder, thus affecting the range of motion of the shoulder joint and the internal stability of the joint.
Pulling the ball too hard: beware of "golf elbow"
Many people know that playing badminton is easy to get "tennis elbow". In fact, playing badminton may also lead to "golf elbow". Wang Wen said that golf elbow and tennis elbow have the same cause, but the difference is that the location of the force point is different and the location of the injury is different. "Tennis elbow" is the injury on the outside of elbow, and patients prefer backhand stroke, while "golf elbow" is the opposite, and patients prefer forehand stroke.
"Golf elbow", whose medical name is medial epicondylitis of humerus, refers to chronic traumatic inflammation at the starting point of flexor muscles (muscles that flex wrists and fingers). Because golfers are more vulnerable to this kind of injury, it is also called "Golf elbow".
Repeated swing: causing "shoulder impingement"
When badminton is racqueted and swung, the shoulder joint abducts. At this time, the internal tissues of the subacromial joint can produce a chronic shoulder pain syndrome due to repeated friction and impact, which is called "shoulder impact syndrome". Its clinical feature is that there is a pain arc in active abduction of shoulder joint, while the pain in passive activity is obviously relieved or even completely painless. The main symptom is shoulder pain, and the pain is mainly around the acromion, which is heavier at night. The affected limb is weak and limited in movement. When the upper arm abducts to 70 degrees, it is obviously painful and feels "stuck". There is no pain at the beginning of abduction of the shoulder joint, and it begins to hurt when it reaches 60 degrees, and it disappears when it exceeds 120 degrees. Reduce or disappear during passive activity. The acute attack of "shoulder impingement" should be partially blocked, and it should be moved immediately after relief to prevent adhesion.
Running "save the ball": hip joint is easy to be injured
In the game, players who are desperate to save the ball can often get warm applause and heartfelt admiration from the audience. However, in actual playing, this kind of action is likely to lead to "head-mortar impact syndrome". Seeing that the position where the ball falls is still a long way from itself, some people will lift their legs and leap in desperation, hoping to catch up in one step. The eagerness to save the ball is commendable, but there will be a violent collision between the femoral head and acetabulum at this time. If there is no movement during warm-up, the "head-acetabular collision syndrome" may occur.
The characteristic of "head-mortar impact syndrome" is that there is nothing unusual at ordinary times, but flexion of hip joint will cause pain. This kind of injury may not be serious at first, but if it can’t be repaired in time, it can accumulate slowly and eventually cause big problems inside the joint. Cartilage in joints is non-renewable, and once damaged, it will never grow back.
How to prevent injuries when playing badminton?
1. Fully do warm-up exercises. Whether joints, ligaments and muscles are warmed up is of great importance, and which part may be injured if the warm-up activity is not in place.
The key point of the correct wrist warm-up action is to straighten the right arm horizontally forward, with the palm of your hand rushing out, and move the five fingers of your right hand back with your left hand to stretch the wrist joints and ligaments. In addition, all joints of the waist and legs, ankles, achilles tendons, shoulders and elbow joints should also be fully warmed up.
2. When playing badminton, use various protective devices, such as wrist protector, shoulder pad, knee protector and ankle protector, which can play a certain protective role.
3. Choose the right venue and sneakers. It is best to play in a stadium with wooden floors, and the soles of sports shoes should have a certain thickness and elasticity.
4. Don’t leave immediately after playing the ball, but relax fully, which will play a positive role in restoring the joints and ligaments of the body and various parts.
5. Don’t "go into battle with injuries".
Tips
Often play badminton.
Good for cervical spine
"Playing badminton often is very helpful to your health." Wang Wen said that playing badminton regularly in Xian Yi, young and old, can strengthen the muscles of limbs and waist, enhance the coordination ability and sensitivity of all parts of the body, accelerate the metabolism and blood circulation of the exerciser, and improve the functions of cardiovascular system and respiratory system. Besides, when playing badminton, we often have to raise our heads, which is contrary to our usual action at our desk. It can effectively relieve and improve the tension in the cervical spine and is very beneficial to the cervical spine.
However, everything has advantages and disadvantages. Badminton can also cause physical injury if it is not exercised properly. "Sports injuries caused by playing badminton are very common, mainly concentrated in the upper limbs." Wang Wen pointed out that wrists, elbows and shoulder joints are the most vulnerable parts.
Editor: Zhang Toya