Do you experience shoulder pain when you play padel? In the third part of his exclusive series for The Padel Paper, specialist padel physio Paul Deane from LDN PHYSIO reveals the common causes and how to fix it!
Shoulder injuries are extremely common in padel due to a number of factors.
The game involves a lot of repetitive, overhead movements, often performed at high speed. Because we rarely do overhead movements repetitively in life, the average shoulder may not be used to this movement and can fatigue quickly. Couple this with usually a poor/non-existent warm-up and overtraining and it places the shoulder at high risk of injury.
One of the most common injuries of the shoulder is ‘rotator cuff-related shoulder pain’, which is an umbrella term for a muscle injury of one of the four rotator cuff muscles (supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis).
Here are my top three tips to stop your shoulders getting injured:
- Warm up properly
The purpose of a warm-up is to prepare the body for activity or sport. You can’t expect to play at your best, by going from 0 to 100% immediately at the start of a match. A good warm-up will allow your shoulder to be ready for the demands of the match from the start, reducing injury risk on those powerful overhead smashes and keeping you out of the physio clinic!
- Train your shoulders in the gym
The more you play, the more you demand of your shoulder. If it is not strong enough, it will eventually over-work and fatigue. Pushing through fatigue carries a high risk of injury.
I’ve included a few exercises below that I use to bulletproof my shoulders. The more conditioned your body is, the less likely injury through playing will occur. Always listen to your body and seek a medical professional’s advice if an injury isn’t settling.
At our Old Street clinic in London, we assess padel players with ‘The Padel MOT’ – a series of movement and strength screens to identify areas of potential injury risk. We also create a bespoke rehab programme. If you have an injury or you think your shoulders are holding you back from your full padel potential, please reach out and we can get you back on track!
- Do the ‘other stuff’ well
Some people consider this the boring part, but if you want to play like a professional, you’ve got to live like one. This means getting consistent, high quality sleep (aiming for 7-9 hours minimum), ensuring your nutrition is on point and contains enough protein to fuel performance, and hydrating adequately (this means drinking more than coffee throughout the day!)
If you would like to know more about ‘The Padel MOT’, you can check it out here.
Here are some exercises that I use to bulletproof my shoulders:
1) Single Arm Barbell Landmine Press
2) Cable/Banded Shoulder Internal/External Rotations
3) Kneeling Single Arm Shoulder Press
4) Kneeling Banded Shoulder Flexion
5) Prone lying T/V
Read part one and part two of Paul Deane’s exclusive series for The Padel Paper.
Paul Deane has worked with elite athletes, professional sports clubs and in frontline healthcare services for over eight years. He works at LDN PHYSIO, London’s Sports Injury Specialist Physiotherapy clinic, as the Specialist Padel Physio, working alongside Sports Medicine Consultants, Strength & Conditioning Coaches, Sports Psychologists and Nutritionists to provide world-class healthcare and injury support for everyone, from the weekend warrior to professional athletes.
Follow LDN Physio on Instagram
Visit his website ldnphysio.co.uk
Or email Paul hello@ldnphysio.co.uk
