‘Preventing Lower Back Pain’ with Yasmin Palejwala

Lower back pain is common in adults whether you are on or off the court. For some, this pain can be worse during tennis, particularly when serving, which can place high load on the lower back and compress the joints in the spine. The combined forces of extension and rotation can place more stress than normal on the joints.

Top tips to try and prevent this: Try and incorporate these stretches and exercises into your warmup and daily routines. These can help offload the stress on your back and make it less painful.

Mobility:

Simple stretches in your warm-up will really help. Reach down and touch your toes, reach up and extend backwards. Slide one hand down towards your knee, and then the other side. Twist one way and the other and loosen up your back. Try and hold these stretches for 20 seconds for these to help lengthen muscles and improve mobility.

Try and incorporate some squats/lunges as well to improve mobility around your hips and get your glute muscles firing – these are the biggest muscles in your body and can offload your lower back.

Strength:

Core – this website gives some great ideas!

https://thecoachcrew.com/7-core-exercises-every-tennis-player-should-do/

Glutes –

Glute bridges – Lie on the floor, bring both feet close to your bum. Try and lift your hips up off the floor by using your glutes. This can be made harder by lifting one leg off the ground and performing the motion with a single-leg.

Monster Walk – put a resistance band around your ankles. Get into a low stance and start walking sideways, keeping tension in the band at all times. Make sure your feet are parallel. Walk 20 steps one way and then 20 back the other way.

Squats/Lunges are always good as well.

As always, happy to help if there are any questions! 😊