Tennis injuries.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this chapter is to critically review the existing studies on the epidemiology of tennis injuries in pediatric athletes, present suggestions for the prevention of injury based on these studies, and present suggestions for future research.

DATA SOURCES

Data sources included published articles on pediatric tennis injuries, a previously published review by the authors, and unpublished data from one of the authors (MS).

MAIN RESULTS

Most studies of tennis injuries show that they are of microtrauma origin, develop over time, and result in short times of absence from play. They involve all joints of the body, but have a higher incidence in the shoulder, back, and knee. Intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors may be related to the incidence of injury. These factors may be evaluated by a comprehensive pre-participation exam, and preventive strategies may be implemented.

CONCLUSIONS

Most injury studies in pediatric tennis players vary in the population studied, methods of injury evaluation, and risk factors studied. Consequently, few specific conclusions can be derived about the causative factors. Further longitudinal prospective studies need to be done to completely discover all the factors involved in producing tennis injuries.