These bodybuilding forums have many posts and threads on various supplements and ways to treat repetitive stress injuries. These supplements includes various products for sports related injuries. An article posted at this web site indicates how shoulder problems and joint problems occur and some methods and supplements to correct these problems.

We’d like to thank IronMass for pointing out some great forums and threads to help our tennis readers deal with injuries as well as helping to support our blog. We found tons more sports related threads there.

Protection
Protect the elbow from further injury by avoiding aggressive use of the joint.

Rest
Similar to protection, but this part is intended as an instruction to go easy on your elbow with some stretching. You never want to cease all activity with an injured muscle or joint area.

Ice
Apply to the elbow as soon as possible. You can buy resusable ice packs that strap on for ease of use. Also, an effective ice treatment is massage by rolling a frozen bottle of water over the affected area.

Compression
By wrapping the area with an elastic bandage, you can reduce swelling.

Elevation
If you can keep the elbow above heart level, this will also reduce swelling.

If a combination of PRICE and over-the-counter pain relievers aren’t doing the job, speak to your doctor to learn about the possibility of physical therapy or even surgery. About 1 in 10 people with tennis elbow need surgical care.

Source: Tennis Elbow, Mayo Clinic website

Special thanks to guest editor Tim Roth for today’s column. Go to atomstozebras.com to explore more of Tim’s scientific work.

Another good preventative measure is strength training especially if you live in a colder climate and there are no indoor facilities nearby to keep your tennis skills up during the winter months.

Finally, be sure to warm up properly. This advice is so simple, but extremely effective at preventing injuries during any kind of physical activity.

Source: Tennis Elbow, Mayo Clinic website

Special thanks to guest editor Tim Roth for today’s column. Visit atomstozebras.com to learn more about science.

The leading causes of tennis elbow are incorrect technique and lack of forearm strength. If you don’t use your forearm muscles due to fatigue or technique, you rely too much on the muscles in your elbow.

Symptoms of tennis elbow range from mild pain that vanishes shortly after a match to sharp pain when shaking hands in the days following your match. One simple test for tennis elbow is to wiggle the middle finger on the same side as the painful elbow. This finger movement uses the extensor digitorum muscle which connects to the ELH muscle. Any painful sensation is an indicator that you may be suffering from tennis elbow.

Tune in tomorrow to learn more about tennis elbow and how you can go about preventing it.

Source: Tennis Elbow, Mayo Clinic website

Special thanks to guest editor Tim Roth for today’s column. Delve into his world of science at atomstozebras.com

Like a guitar string, the strings on tennis vibrate when struck. Depending on how tight the racquet is strung, the frequency of this vibration ranges from 100 Hz (Hz stands for Hertz which is measure of times/second) to 200 Hz. The more tightly a racquet is strung, the higher the frequency will be.

Because a racquet is a semi-uniform beam, there are locations along the tennis racquet were the vibration/energy transferred to the racquet and your hand varies. Below is a diagram showing significant locations on a racquet.

CM (Center of Mass)
While you obviously don’t want to hit the ball here, it determines the location of the sweet spot.

Dead spot:
When serving, this is good spot to hit near because the energy from the moving racquet is entirely given to the ball. On the flip side, if you try to return a fast serve near this point, all of the energy of the ball is transferred to the racquet and no energy is transferred back to the ball. Therefore there is no bounce.

Node:
This is the point where no vibration is felt. This means that almost all of the energy of the ball strike will be gone by the time it reaches your hand.

COP (Center of Percussion):
This is spot where the force of the ball strike is balancing with your force applied to parts of your hand and you don’t feel a jolt in your forearm. When the ball hits the tip, more force is applied to the bottom of your hand then top. When the ball hits the throat of the racquet, more force is applied to upper part of the hand.

Best Bounce Area:
This is the area where the racquet returns most of the energy of your opponents shot. This great energy return comes at a price, because you might feel a lot of vibrational shock especially if you are at the business end of a Andy Roddick serve. He holds the record for fastest serve in professional tennis — 154 miles per hour!!

For an even more technical explanation and futher reading, check out a physics web site created by University of Sydney physics professor and tennis fan Rod Cross. The illustration of the racquet used in this article is courtesy of Cross’ site.

Special thanks to guest editor Tim Roth for today’s column. Read more of his fascinating scientific insights at atomstozebras.com