Two world-class orthopaedists at the Mount Sinai Health System worked behind the scenes at the 2014 US Open, treating an array of health problems incurred by players at the popular tennis tournament, which ran from Monday, August 25, through Monday, September 8, in Flushing Meadows, Queens. The Mount Sinai Hospital is the official hospital of the US Open and the United States Tennis Association (USTA).
With the US Open upon us, many of us are ready to start gearing up our tennis playing. However, you might ask yourself, are my knees and shoulders up for the challenge? Many of us might be scared of the dreaded rotator cuff injury and fearful of a scenario similar to that of Novak Djokovic prior to winning Wimbledon. Luckily, Djokovic did not tear his rotator cuff and with the right knowledge about the cuff, you can avoid serious injury as well.
Tennis elbow is a common injury found in tennis players and other sports. The pain is on the outside of the elbow, where the wrist extensor muscles originate, and is usually tender when palpated. The pain is worsened with hand shaking, opening jars, using a knife or fork or even using a toothbrush. Tennis elbow is more common in males, and those in the range of 30-50 years of age. It is important, however, to remember that people outside this age range also get tennis elbow frequently. Tennis players make up the majority of cases, but it is also found among baseball players, gardeners, house or office cleaners, carpenters, mechanics, and golfers.
When I was in high school in the late 1940s, I lived a few blocks away from the West Side Tennis Club. This was the home of the United States Championships, which ranked with those of Australia and Wimbledon. It was a different, more amateur era for tennis — players wore all white, including sneakers, and just as white were the tennis balls — yet the play was no less intense than that of today. Back then, there were no “tie breakers,” so matches could go on for hours — a challenge for any player with type 1 diabetes (once known as juvenile diabetes). (more…)