Beverly Supanick
Racquetball Guru

"Racquetball as a One-Sided Sport, Musculoskeletal Breakdowns, and The Solution(s)"

Achieving your goal of becoming a better player or of becoming more fit through racquetball is very difficult if you are regularly picking up injuries, and, as a result, struggle to perform or play consistently throughout the season. It is fairly natural to believe that to play or condition ourselves better, the best approach is to spend more time on the court playing. Time on the court IS important as this is where we work on technical or tactical development (These are the objectives of my beginner to low intermediate racquetball lessons); and create simulations through conditioned games and practices to prepare us for the physical and mental challenges of competition (These are the objectives of my high intermediate and advanced lessons.) More playing, lessons, practice, and competition generally lead to more on court fitness and more proficient game execution.
But what is the downside to all this?

"If all we do to train for our sport is to play the sport, then typically what starts to develop alongside better performance are reductions in musculoskeletal health. It is not uncommon to see a player break down at a point when they are achieving a high level of court fitness. So what are the mechanisms behind this?" *

  Racquetball is a one-sided sport. We always hit the ball with the same hand, and the way we move on the court means that we will lunge (not recommended for racquetball, lessons remediate this) significantly more onto our dominant leg.

   "The result of all this one-sided activity is that the body starts to develop restrictions and tightness, especially around the hip and shoulder region of the dominant side. The muscle groups at the front of the body tend to become tight and dominant (i.e., the hip flexors and quads), while the muscles at the back of the body tend to atrophy and weaken (i.e., the glutes, hamstrings, shoulder retractors and upper back muscles). Not surprisingly, then, that at some stage these mobility and strength imbalances will result in injury if not corrected.

    Some common overuse injuries for racquetball players include: pain and irritation in the shoulder and elbow of the racket arm, lower back and hip problems, tendonitus of the knee, and lower leg problems." * 

    From my 15 years of experience with rb players, I firmly believe that these injuries are a result of poor movement techniques, muscular strength imbalances and weaknesses, and, of course, constant repetition of the compromised movements which ultimately cause the body to break down. 

      "So how do we create balance in our on and off court training, and introduce correct training techniques that allow us to develop the physical attributes to compete and condition successfully on the court while at the same time keeping our bodies fit, balanced, and healthy?" *

   (1) The number one way is through lessons, where I teach you the way to use all of your body weight and balance through the swing, not just your arm only. To check the prices, tab "Lesson Schedule" on this website.

    

* Damon Leedale-Brown, Squash Magazine, March 2011