Four guidelines for getting yourself off the injured list and back on the court.

By Alyssa Shaffer

When a knee injury on the last day of 2007 sidelined Meghann Shaughnessy, her doctors told her it would take about four to six months after surgery for her torn medial meniscus to heal. Less than three months later, the former Top 20 player signed up to compete in the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

WORKOUT OF THE MONTH This conditioning workout, from Todd Ellenbecker, D.P.T., chairman of the USTA Sport Science Committee, targets a tennis player’s weakest links: the core, shoulders and back. 1. PLANK Strengthens the core, lower back and hips. Begin face down on the floor with your elbows under your shoulders, your forearms on the floor, and your legs extended. Lift your hips, forming a straight line from your head to your heels, and keep your body weight on your elbows and toes. Hold for 10–30 seconds, building up to 60 seconds. 2. BENT-OVER ROW Strengthens the upper back and shoulders.  Lean over with your right hand and knee on a bench for support. With your back flat and left arm extended down, hold an 8–15 pound dumbbell in your left hand. Pull the weight toward your ribs, bringing your elbow toward the ceiling and keeping your arm close to your side. Squeeze your shoulder blades together. Slowly return to the start and repeat. Do 10–12 reps and switch sides. 3. 90-90 ROTATION Strengthens the rotator cuff and shoulders.  Lie face down over a bench or table with your right elbow and upper arm supported. Bend your elbow at 90 degrees, let your forearm hang off the edge of the bench, and hold a 3–8 pound dumbbell in your hand. Keeping your shoulder and elbow still, lift your forearm until it’s parallel to the floor. Slowly lower to start and repeat. Do 10–12 reps and switch sides.

It’s an all-too-familiar scenario at every level: You’re sidelined with an injury, you think you’re better, and you return to the court earlier than you should. At best, your game will be off; at worst, you’ll suffer an injury more severe than your initial setback. To help you get back to top form—and stay there—follow these four rules.

Rule 1: Give yourself time to heal
“Most athletes just don’t want to take a break,” says Dr. Robert Gotlin, director of orthopedic and sports rehabilitation at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York. “The hardest thing a sports-medicine doctor has to face is convincing our patients that they have to give their bodies time to recover.”

Come back too soon and you risk aggravating your injury or hurting something else. “The most vulnerable time for an athlete is when you first come back to play,” says Todd Ellenbecker, a physical therapist based in Scottsdale, Ariz., and co-author of Complete Conditioning For Tennis. A knee injury, for example, might mean you’re a step late on your ground strokes, so you’re using your arm more and overloading the elbow. “Next thing you know, the player with a knee injury is back to see me with an elbow problem,” he says. “Everything in the body is connected.”

If you injure yourself further while you’re still recovering, expect an even longer layoff. “Because you’re dealing with more scar tissue and inflammation, your time frame to heal will essentially double,” Gotlin says. So what might have taken three to six weeks to mend will now take six to 12 weeks. “I tell my patients to follow the one-week rule: Give yourself an extra week of recovery, even if you’re feeling good, so you’re 100 percent healthy before returning to play.”

Rule 2: Don’t become a couch potato
An injury isn’t an excuse to stop exercising completely. Use your time off to keep up your cardiovascular fitness and strength training and be sure to follow your rehabilitation plan if you’re seeing a physical therapist. “If you do your rehab right and add some cross-training, you can come back faster and return to form sooner,” Ellenbecker says.

Shaughnessy took that message to heart late in 2008. She trained up to four hours a day with a combination of aquatic fitness, cycling and strength work. “I’m heading back into competitive play fitter than I’ve ever been before,” she says.

If you’re recovering from a lower-body injury, get on an arm ergometer (a bike for your upper body) or ask your doctor if you can cross-train in the pool with deepwater jogging and strength moves. If you have an elbow or shoulder injury, hop on the stationary bike or stair climber. “You have to keep the rest of your body fit,” Ellenbecker says.

Rule 3: Start back slowly
Your doctor or therapist may have babystepped you through your rehabilitation, but you’re often on your own when it comes to getting back on the court. “You want to work your way back slowly and not just jump in,” Gotlin says. “It can take a month to six weeks to get you back to match play.” That might mean playing for only 10 or 15 minutes on your first day back, then taking two days off to rest and recover.

This is a good time to have a teaching pro re-evaluate your technique on your strokes and make sure you’re not favoring one leg or hitting the ball a little late. “You might be compensating in a way you’re not aware of and risking another injury,” Ellenbecker says. Even your choice of ball should be different, especially if you’ve suffered an elbow or shoulder injury. Start by hitting a foam ball, then a low-compression one, and finally use a standard tennis ball.

Rule 4: Stay healthy
To sidestep the problems that might have gotten you injured, you need to keep fit after you’ve healed. “Practice prehab, or preventive conditioning,” says Dr. Vijay Vad, a sports-medicine specialist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. That includes doing some balance, flexibility and strength exercises at least three times a week. Make sure you’re giving your body plenty of time to warm up before play, and include some light stretching afterward, especially for your hamstrings.

Most important, listen to your body. “You’re the one in charge,” Ellenbecker says. “If something doesn’t feel right, you need to pay attention.” Some general soreness after play is usually no big deal, but if you feel an ache or discomfort during play, or before you even start, it’s time to put your racquet away. After all, you don’t want to wind up back on the sidelines after you’ve worked so hard to get well.