Pattern of injuries amongst tennis players in Accra, Ghana.
Gabriella Acquaye, Jonathan Quartey, Samuel Kwakye
PMID 32832711WHAT IT FOUND
Most injuries occurred in the upper limbs, with the knee and shoulder being the most common sites.
Overuse and overexertion were the main causes. Many players did not receive treatment, and warm-up or shoe type showed no association with injury cause.
Key findings
01The knee was the most frequently injured body part (27.5%), followed by the shoulder (21.1%), although the majority of injuries were located in the upper limbs (52.4%).
02Overuse and overexertion were the most common causes of injury, while being struck by the racket or ball was the least common.
03There was no statistical association between whether a player warmed up or their shoe type and the cause of their injury.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
This is a descriptive survey of a specific population in Ghana, so findings may not generalize to tennis players in other regions or with different playing surfaces. The cross-sectional design cannot establish causality between risk factors (like warm-up or shoes) and injury occurrence. A significant portion of participants (24.65%) did not receive any treatment, which may bias the reported injury severity or nature if untreated injuries were less severe or more chronic. The study relied on self-report for some injury details and playing habits, which can be subject to recall bias.
Declared interests
None reported.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that warm-ups and proper footwear are ineffective for injury prevention. This study found no association between these factors and the cause of injury, but its cross-sectional design cannot prove causation or rule out other benefits of these practices.