Four guidelines for getting yourself off the injured list and back on the court.
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.
But her level of play wasn’t what it should have been. Shaughnessy, now 29, lost early in the tournament and in another one less than two weeks later. She had to retire in her first match at a third tournament a week after that. “I didn’t realize the impact the surgery would have on my body. I was just so excited to get back on the court that I rushed things,” she says. “I was a couple of steps slower than normal, I couldn’t move as well, and I just didn’t have any power on my shots.”
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.