Shoulder Pain/Rotator cuff tendinopathy

Shoulder pain / Rotator cuff tendinopathy

Article written by Claire Griffin.

The shoulder joint is the most complex joint in the body, compromising stability for mobility.  Consequently shoulder pain is very common amongst the sporting population, particularly those involved in overhead sports such as tennis or throwing sports.  The rotator cuff is a group of shoulder muscles that are responsible for stabilising the shoulder joint.  These muscles all originate from the scapula (shoulder blade) and insert onto the humerus (upper arm bone).  The rotator cuff muscles are the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis (SITS).  Commonly the tendons of these muscles become damaged and swollen (in a condition known as a rotator cuff tendinopathy), leading to pain in the shoulder and muscular weakness.  Clinical features of a rotator cuff tendinopathy include pain with overhead activities, such as during a serve or a smash in tennis.

The supraspinatus tendon is one of the most frequent of the rotator cuff to cause pain.  Its primary function is to abduct the humerus i.e. move the arm outwards from the side, away from the midline of the body.  Supraspinatus tendinopathy commonly causes impingement within the joint, demonstrating a painful arc of movement, in which pain is elicited between 70 – 120 degrees of abduction.   This may be caused by compression of the swollen tendon by the head of the humerus.  Recent research has highlighted that pain from an overloaded or damaged tendon may not be felt for 48 hours after sport, due to the slow-responding nature of tendons, both to pain and overload, and to rehabilitation.

Examination of rotator cuff tendinopathy may reveal tenderness over the tendon, pain on active movement, pain on resisted contraction of the muscle and weakness in the muscle/s.  Shoulder instability and muscle imbalance often co-exist with tendinopathies, so it is important that these are recognised during assessment.  The presence of myofascial trigger points, which may themselves cause pain, and reduce the range of motion at the joint, should be investigated.

Treatment of rotator cuff tendinopathy should firstly involve treatment of the tendinopathy itself and secondly treatment of the causative factors.  The person should avoid aggravating activities i.e. resting from tennis, and not just avoiding overhead activities during the sport!  Ice should be applied locally to the tendon or muscle within the first 24 – 48 hours of onset of pain.  The shoulder should be assessed by a Chartered Physiotherapist, who will address any underlying soft tissue tightness, shoulder instability, muscle weakness, scapulohumeral rhythm (movement of the humerus with regard to the scapula) or poor technique during training or sport that may be causing or contributing to the dysfunction.

Top Sports Physiotherapist to Contribute to the Blog.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Claire for agreeing to write for the blog.  

Claire will be covering a wide range of injuries in her articles and hopefully these will be of help to any of you carrying injuries out there.  If any of you are injured you can make an appointment with Claire on 021-4384882 or by following this link.

Claire's first article is due shortly so watch this space.  Below is some information about Claire and her many qualifications.

Claire Griffin MISCP.

BSc (Hons) MSc Physiotherapy, Chartered Physiotherapist.

Graduating with a Masters in Physiotherapy from the University of Ulster at Jordanstown in 2005, Claire is currently a member of the Irish Society of Physiotherapists and Chartered Physiotherapists in Private Practice. She has a special interest in sports physiotherapy, and has treated athletes at international level.

She initially worked in the Bon Secours Hospital in Cork from 2005 to 2007, before joining the Cork Therapy Centre on a full time basis in 2007.

Claire is a keen sports person, and takes part in regular running and cycling training.  She trains and competes with Leevale AC and won her first competition last year, the Munster Novice Road Championships 2011, winning silver for Club and County.  Claire was team physiotherapist for Highfield RFC (Juniors) 2009 – 2010.

Claire has completed a number of postgraduate chartered physiotherapy postgraduate musculoskeletal, orthopaedic, spinal, manual therapy and biomechanical courses, and has a particular interest in myofascial pain, employing a highly successful technique called dry needling of myofascial trigger points.  She undertakes regular courses to improve her skills.

Claire also lectures FETAC Level 6 and ITEC Anatomy and Physiology for Fitness Instructors, as well as teaching Spinal Anatomy and Back Care as part of Manual Handling Instructors' Course. 

Award for Cork coach - Conor O Callaghan

The Tennis Ireland Annual Awards ceremony took place last weekend in Naas with various awards being presented to the best in their field.

Our top players were acknowledged in both junior and senior categories and hopefully they will all build on their successes in 2011 and make 2012 another memorable year for Irish tennis.

2012 has started in the best possible manner with success on the world stage. Our ladies O-45 team had an amazing win in the World Team Championships in San Diego and the team of Lesley O Halloran, Phillipa Palmer, Niamh Kennedy and Cork's Grace Reidy were honoured.

This was followed with an award for another Cork person and to me this was a very deserving award.

This young man has dedicated himself to improving tennis in Cork and Ireland and he takes any opportunity to learn. At a recent visit to Wimbledon with Conor, he was as concerned about seeing players practice as he was watching the matches.
He wanted to see what he could pick up from the various sessions. It is this eagerness to learn and to better himself that has put Conor on the road to becoming one of Ireland's top coaches.

So I would like to congratulate Conor O Callaghan on winning the award for Coach of the Year.

Club Profile - Kinsale Tennis Club

Kinsale Tennis Club is located next to the Rugby Club on the outskirts of the beautiful town of Kinsale, County Cork. 
Club facilities include five floodlit savannah courts as well as a midi-sized junior court, and a ClubHouse with catering and comfort facilities. 
KTC enjoys a very active membership with both junior and senior sections, encouraging participation of play ranging from social to competitive levels. There are various social tennis events throughout the year from breakfast mornings to festive tournaments all of which contribute to the community spirit that is found within the club. 
Family involvement is encouraged in the club through family fundays and junior/senior tournaments. 
Our open tournament which is held at the end of may is entered and praised by many. 
At Kinsale Tennis Club we look forward to moving with the times but maintaining the core values that make us an active part of our local community as well as looking to expand our relationships with other tennis clubs. 
Below is a copy of our digital notice board which can be found on our website on www.kinsaletennisclub.com 
Please have a look.

St.Annes Vets Open - coming soon.

Calling all vets, St. Annes vets open will take place from Friday the 9th of March until Sunday the 11th of March.

St. Annes have a lovely facility and always put on a great event.  Might be worth considering and don't forget it is a counting tournament for the Munster Interprovincial team.

To enter contact the club or enter online here.

Fundraiser at Mitchelstown Tennis Club - All Welcome.

Mitchelstown Lawn Tennis Club - Fun Casino Night

On Saturday 3^rd March, Mitchelstown Lawn Tennis Club will host a Fun Casino Night in the Firgrove Hotel, Mitchelstown. This is the second year of this event and last year it was a magnificent night’s entertainment. Mark and Glen from Junction Productions together with their team of professional croupiers are back on board this year to make sure this year’s event is even better!

The evening will begin with a Champagne reception in the foyer of the hotel. Collecting your chips at the door, you can then make your way to the Casino Floor. Just like Las Vegas,  we will have Blackjack, Roulette and Texas Holdem. Don’t worry if you’ve never played before, our croupiers will explain the rules to you and we will have a few practice hands before the gaming commences. But remember this is a Fun night so there will be plenty of twists along the way!

Finger Food will be served and of course the bar will be open throughout the night.

After the games have ended, the gaming tables will be cleared and it’s time to hit the floor and dance the night away. DJ James Murphy will be providing the tunes and we want to see everyone out on the dance floor!

We are holding this Casino Night in order to raise funds to resurface our tennis courts. Our existing courts were first laid in 1971 when the courts were changed from lawn to tarmac. The last cash injection into the club was in the mid 90’s when our floodlights were installed and the tarmac courts were renewed. Although the courts have served us well for the last 20 years or so the recent harsh winters have taken their toll on the surface and they are now in major need of resurfacing.

Tickets are available from club members or you can e-mail us at mitchelstowntennisclub@gmail.com. 

Intervarsities come to Cork.

Intervarsity Championships come to Cork in 2012.

UCC Tennis Club will host the 2012 Intervarsity Championships in Sundays Well Boating and Tennis Club from Thursday the 16th of February to Sunday the 19th of February. With teams travelling from all over the country there is going to be some great tennis on display.

In the Men’s A competition defending champions and top seeds Dublin City University (DCU) will be looking for their 6th consecutive Varsity Title. Trinity College Dublin, led by former Irish internationals Mark Carpenter and Gavin Gilhawley, will be looking to make their mark at Varsities this year as will UCD, led by another former international Fergus O’Connell. This year we are also delighted to welcome a team from Queens University Belfast. In the Men’s A UCC are lead by team captain Conor Kelly who is yet to lose a match in Varsities and will be looking to continue his glorious winning streak on the singles and doubles courts as he partners Marco Biasin, an Erasmus student from Bologna Italy. UCC also welcome a whole new range of first year students to our teams including Killian McCarthy and James Reidy who made the Men’s 1st team. We also welcome another Erasmus Student, Nicolas Urbieta from Bordeaux, France who will be playing for the Men’s 1st team alongside Kevin O’Keeffe.

In the women’s once again DCU will be looking to continue their dominance, as they are lead by former Federation Cup player Niamh Coveney. Once again DCU have a very strong team and will have high hopes of going all the way again this year. Trinity College and UCD will both be looking to halt the DCU team in the women’s competition. UCC this year are glad to welcome Irish University International Danielle Geary to their team, which is captained by Fiona Jagla. This year the girls have a tough opening match against Trinity College 1.

The Men’s Bowl competition is the largest draw once again and UCC 2 will be looking to retain their title that they won in Galway last year. This year, the team captained by Declan Whelan-Curtin will have to battle it out against teams from CIT, TCD, DCU, UCD, QUB, NUIG, and 2 other UCC Teams. Killian Boland will captain the UCC 3 team and first year Adam Bluett will captain the UCC 4 team when they take on UL2.

The weekend promises to be a lot of fun with a high standard of tennis. We would like to thank Sunday’s Well Tennis Club for accommodating us and we look forward to a nice few days in the club. We would also like to thank Douglas LTC and the River Lee Hotel for allowing us to use some of their courts over the weekend.

We would encourage all of you to come out and enjoy some great tennis in the Well over the weekend.

This article was supplied by Conor Kelly and James Reidy.

Irish Tennis has World Champions.

Irish tennis history was made in San Diego yesterday and a Cork woman was part of it.

Grace Reidy of Sundays Well tennis club travelled as part of the Women's 45 tennis team to the World Team Championships in San Diego and after five tough matches, the girls made history in bringing home the Margaret Court Cup.  The first ever World Title for an Irish team.

Seeded sixth in the event there was always the possibility of something positive, maybe a semi final if they worked hard and played well.  This was always going to be a big ask though, after the draw for the groups was made and Ireland ended up in the same group as the No.1 seeds USA.

Like true professionals you take one match, one game at a time and this they did.
In their first match they beat Poland 3-0.
This was followed with a 2-1 defeat of a strong Dutch team and now the number 1 seeds.
After splitting the singles it all came down to the doubles and Ireland weren't found wanting, a 2-1 defeat of USA.

Now, you start to believe things can happen, now, you are being watched and a team to be taken seriously.

The semi final opponents were Germany and again the singles were split.  As so often happens in this event the outcome of the match comes down to the doubles and again this was to be the case.
In a tough match, where Germany began to crack under the pressure and the loss of a point due to a warning in the second set tiebreak, Ireland were on their way to the final.

Could you believe it?  One match away from history!  Only France were standing in the way of Irelands greatest tennis achievement.  Revenge for Henry's handball?
Well you guessed it, the singles were again split and the faith of the title rested on the shoulders of Phillipa Palmer and Lesley O Halloran.

Could you pick a better person to have on court for you in this situation? I think not!  I should really point out at this stage, and not to take from the rest of the team members, that Lesley played 5 singles matches and 4 doubles matches and won all of them.   This is an amazing achievement and let's hope Lesley can take that form into next weeks individual World Championships and we may well be celebrating 2 world titles.

Right back to the match, well France decided to do what Ireland did and they put their two singles players back on court to play for the title.
France take these world championships very seriously as overall results show, they won four world titles across the various age groups, but this wasn't going to be one of them.
The Irish girls put in a very confident and solid performance and won the doubles 6-3, 6-2 in convincing manner and created history for Irish tennis.

Well done to all on an amazing achievement.

Four other Cork players travelled to this event, Marie Duffy (W50), Connie Creed (W50), Ann Naughton (W50) and Liam O Brien (M45) where they all acquitted themselves very well and will no doubt have enjoyed their experiences and the event.  The three girls were making their debuts and acquitted themselves well, while Liam has being here before and his experience showed.

He teamed up with Neil Wilson in their first match against Germany and won a convincing doubles and then followed up this with a win over the Australian number 1 in their singles in a tough three setter.

A big congratulations to all on your selections and doing Cork tennis proud.

Tennnis Round up with Tennisnow.com

The Simpsons!

So ever thought of having a Tennis Holiday in Spain?

The following information has being supplied by Tony and Kathy Davison who are offering Irish people a unique tennis holiday in Spain.  They will cater for all of your needs and ensure you have a great time while there.

So ever thought of having a Tennis Holiday in Spain?

Just 18 months ago my family and I decided to move out of N. Ireland to sunny Spain. Having lived in S. Africa for 22 years it was difficult to adjust to the climate in N. Ireland and so after 9 years we were on the move again back to the sun. I acquired a teaching job in an International school and Tony who is a Vets International Tennis player took the opportunity to play some good tennis and at the same time put the wheels in motion to develop a Tennis Holiday business. This business would focus on groups of tennis players from the UK and Ireland.

Having many contacts in the tennis world we sent out the word and had our first groups arriving within the first few months.

When people think of Tennis Holidays in Spain they think of La Manga and rightly so…. it is a very exclusive resort with extensive facilities and very good coaching. A place that is ideal for the up and coming player who needs to improve their technique and skills to move forward. Now that is not exactly us….not to say our coaching is inferior…..no not at all. In fact the coach and owner of the club we bring our groups to used to be the head coach at the club that trained Bjon Borg so our credentials are good but our holidays are different.

So what do we provide?

We offer you flexibility tailored to your group. This flexibility surrounds the amount of coaching you require, and the amount of playing time. We can also organize a day in a village in the mountains and can also organize play with local players. Each day lunch is provided along with transport.  In essence we offer you a personalized service that is adapted to your groups needs. For example one of our groups wanted a day out from tennis and we organized a day trip to an Andalucian village for a tapas lunch. In the afternoon we transported the group to a market. In the evening the groups will usually go to a restaurant.

Our accommodation comprises of a large Villa with a pool where you can have the choice of staying in as a group or dining out. The villa also means the group stay together and are not separated into different apartments. This aspect of our tennis Holidays has been a great success.

In addition we can also accommodate large groups at resorts if you so wish.

Tony and I enjoy these holidays as much as our clients. We strive to make it a great fun holiday that you will enjoy with your fellow players. In addition you might even learn a new skill or two!!

So …..if you are looking for a good fun tennis holiday that involves good tennis, a lovely family club with friendly people, sunshine and a personalized service  then give us a call or drop us a line. Tell us what you want and we will come back to you with costs and an Itinery to suit your group.

Tony and Kathy Davison

http://www.tennisinspainblog.com