Shoulder injury prevention in youth tennis 12-16 years old : exercise guide implemented as warmup for Ålk tennis club

Abstract

Competing in tennis begins today at a young age and intensive sports specific training even earlier. This excessive focus on competing and intensive training at a young age may lead young players to injuries caused by overuse or trauma. The shoulder is prone to injury in tennis due to high loads and forces placed repeatedly on the joint. However, injuries in youth tennis may be prevented with appropriate training and warmup as well as being mentally and physically prepared for the upcoming training or match. The aim of this thesis is to increase the knowledge of shoulder injury prevention in young tennis players and coaches. The objective of this thesis is to produce an exercise recommendation program for ÅLK tennis to be used as a warmup and to educate tennis players in the age group of 12-16 years and their coaches about preventative activity in tennis and the importance of a proper warm up. The thesis was made in co-operation with Åbo Lawn-Tennis Klubb. Implementation of the thesis took part as an action-research and begun with collecting literature from which information was used to create the warmup guide. The target group was decided together with the tennis club based on the amount of junior tennis players. The theoretical part of this thesis consisted of literature regarding shoulder injuries in youth tennis, biomechanics in tennis, anatomy of the shoulder girdle and injury prevention. In addition, general knowledge of important factors regarding the development and training of youth athletes were included.