[en] The serve is an important stroke in any high level tennis game. A well-mastered serve is a substantial advantage for players. However, because of its repeatability and its intensity, this stroke is potentially deleterious for upper limbs, lower limbs and trunk. The trunk is a vital link in the production and transfer of energy from the lower limbs to the upper limbs; therefore, kin-ematic disorder could be a potential source of risk for trunk injury in tennis. This research studies the case of a professional tennis player who has suffered from a medical tear on the left rectus abdominis muscle after tennis serve. The goal of the study is to understand whether the injury could be explained by an inappropriate technique. For this purpose, we analyzed in three dimensions the kinematic and kinetic aspects of the serve. We also performed isokinetic tests of the player’s knees. We then compared the player to five other professional players as refer-ence. We observed a possible deficit of energy transfer because of an important anterior pelvis tilt. Some compensation made by the player during the serve could be a possible higher abdominal contraction and a larger shoulder external rotation. These partic-ularities could induce an abdominal overwork that could explain the first injury and may provoke further injuries.
Research Center/Unit :
Laboratoire d'Analyse du Mouvement Humain (LAMH) - Université de Liège
Disciplines :
Orthopedics, rehabilitation & sports medicine
Author, co-author :
Tubez, François ; Université de Liège > Département des sciences de la motricité > Département des sciences de la motricité
Forthomme, Bénédicte ; Université de Liège > Département des sciences de la motricité > Rééducation du membre supérieur
Croisier, Jean-Louis ; Université de Liège > Département des sciences de la motricité > Kinésithérapie générale et réadaptation
Cordonnier, Caroline ; Université de Liège > Département des sciences de la motricité > Kinésithérapie générale et réadaptation
Bruls, Olivier ; Université de Liège > Département d'aérospatiale et mécanique > Laboratoire des Systèmes Multicorps et Mécatroniques
Denoël, Vincent ; Université de Liège > Département ArGEnCo > Analyse sous actions aléatoires en génie civil
Berwart, Gilles ; Université de Liège > Département des sciences de la motricité > Kinésithérapie générale et réadaptation
Joris, Maurice
GROSDENT, Stéphanie ; Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège - CHU > Médecine de l'appareil locomoteur
Schwartz, Cédric ; Université de Liège > Département des sciences de la motricité > Kinésithérapie générale et réadaptation
Language :
English
Title :
Biomechanical Analysis of Abdominal Injury in Tennis Serves. A Case Report
Publication date :
01 July 2015
Journal title :
Journal of Sports Science and Medicine
eISSN :
1303-2968
Publisher :
Medical Faculty of Uludag University. Department of Sports Medicine, Bursa, Turkey
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