“I just make sure that in my mind I am ready to be able to play with pain,” said Kim Clijsters (www.injury.com). There are many badminton athletes who play with pain every day. Badminton is not a contact sport like football or boxing. But in badminton athletes constantly injure their tendons, ankles and elbows. But how do you prevent injuries ? What are the most frequent injuries?
First, the most common badminton injuries are sprained ankles, Achilles tendonitis, tennis elbow, rotator cuff injuries, and patella tendonitis. A sprained ankle is also the most common injury in badminton. Sprained ankles happen because there is a lot of change of direction in badminton. This can lead to the player stepping on the ground awkwardly and rolling their ankle. A sprained ankle is when there is damage to the ankle ligaments and soft tissues around the ankle. Another common type of injury is Achilles tendonitis. This injury happens to the Achilles tendon and if the player injures it while playing, the injury will be worse. Achilles tendonitis is more common among older athletes.
Then he injured his tennis elbow which involved inflammation of the tendonitis of his arm. The injury is caused by gripping the racket too hard or too hard. Once the inflammation starts with tennis elbow continuing to hold the knot will also make the pain worse. Also injuries, rotator-cuff as a small irritation start in the shoulder and can lead to partial tears in the rotator cuff. Shoulder injuries in badminton can be caused by head shots. Also, patella tendonitis aka jumpers knee happens when there is a continuous flow in the patella tendon that is under the knee cap. This injury can be caused by damage to the tissue that develops in the tendon. It is made from a continuous jump when playing badminton.
Badminton injuries occur in many competitions. “The Badminton Injury Questionnaire (BIQ) in which 230 and 31 players, ranging from club players to international champions, completed a survey that showed an injury incidence rate of .09 and .14 injuries per person for male and female badminton players” (www. pubmedcentral.nih.gov). But, not as prone to injury as contact sports such as football and boxing. The number of injuries that occur in jogging and running are comparable. Most injuries occur due to fire. There are few acute injuries. Acute injuries happen suddenly and are an easy reason for the injury. For example, if you hurt yourself because a double teammate accidentally runs into you.
There are ways that badminton athletes can prevent injuries. Ankle sprains can be prevented by wearing the right shoes and hitting the ankles before playing badminton. Additionally, Achilles Tendonitis prevention is concerned with the frequency, duration and intensity when playing badminton on a daily basis. This is especially important as you progress, because this type of injury is more prevalent. Tennis elbow can be avoided by making sure you play badminton with the right size racket. If the racket is narrow, you will have a hard time. In addition, tennis elbow compression straps can help those with elbow tendonitis because it will heal faster. Patella Tendonitis can be avoided by monitoring any increase in the amount of badminton you play. Make sure you grow slowly and don’t fast, otherwise you tend to tighten the plate. The tendon plate helps the ligament heal faster.
Badminton is similar to most competitive sports in that injuries are prevalent among their athletes. But playing badminton the right way and being in good shape can help prevent injuries while playing badminton. Badminton is a game that can be played by anyone. It is only in pain that the game becomes something that is in the game. It also helps to prevent injuries by knowing what the body can and cannot do.
Works Cited
Injury Quotes: From the wise to Hilary 12 Jan. 2009
Survey of Badminton Injuries Jan 12 2009
