We have often heard that padel was a sport requiring less physical condition and causing less injuries that tennis. Is it really a reality?

What is the area most prone to injury in amateur padel and tennis players?

In the case of amateur padel: In the case of amateur tennis:

  • Elbow 20% Elbow 16%
  • Back 14-11% Foot 15%
  • Foot 13-11% Knee 11%
  • Knee 11-10% Shoulder 8%
  • Shoulder 10-8% Back 5%

 

If we look at the data of professional tennis players Between 2012 and 2016 (unfortunately there is not much data regarding professional padel players) we find the following distribution.

We can see a very high number of back injuries, well above the following injuries: foot, shoulder and wrist.

What do these data mean?

Differences between tennis and padel fans

The data indicate that between Padel and tennis among amateurs, there is not really much difference in terms of injured areas. However, there is a slightly higher percentage of back injuries in padel.

The shoulder, very much in demand in tennis via the service and in padel with the numerous gestures such as the smash, the bandeja or the vibora which are carried out above the height of the head, is a much less risky area than the elbow, leading injury among fans of both sports. The famous tennis elbow is of course to blame, it is therefore essential for a fan of pay attention to the choice of your material.

 

White Bandeja wpt
                                            

Differences between amateurs and professionals

If we compare the players of amateur and professional tennis, it is very interesting to see the difference in back injuries. If they are very infrequent among amateurs, they are clearly so among the pros, with an impressive increase between 2012 and 2016. We therefore conclude that high-level practice, which is mostly done on hard courts, combined with many trips that professionals must make, generates a severe stress on the spine.

It would be interesting to know if in the case of padel we would find comparable differences between amateurs and professionals, but unfortunately we do not have sufficient data at the moment.

Number of injuries

In padel, there is an average of 2,75 injuries per 1000 hours of play, while at tennis, the average number of injuries per 1000 hours of play varies from 1 to 4. We can consider that the risk of contracting an injury is similar for these two sports.

These data mean that these two sports have a much lower risk of injury than any other. contact sport. From contactless sports, they would be in an intermediate position, as there are sports with higher injury averages such as volleyball and gymnastics.

The 5 most frequent injuries in padel tennis players - AS.com

 

Factors that increase the risk of suffering a padel injury

In the case of amateur padel players, it has been proven that the lower the level of play, the more injuries there are, which can be explained by the fact that the players have poorer physical and technical condition, which would lead to more injuries.

Conclusion

We can say that padel is a sport thatwe can practice without too much risk for our health, which makes it a fun activity par excellence.

In terms of injuries, there is not a big difference with tennis, but even at an amateur level, we should not overlook physical preparation and technical work.

 

 

Bibliography

  1. García–Fernández P, Guodemar–Pérez J, Ruiz-López M, Rodríguez-López ES, García-Heras A, Hervás–Pérez JP. Lesional epidemiología in professional and amateur Spanish padel players. RIMCAFD. 16 de diciembre de 2019;19(76):641.
  2. Fu MC, Ellenbecker TS, Renstrom PA, Windler GS, Dines DM. Epidemiology of injuries in tennis players. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med. 16 enero 2018; 11 (1): 1-5.
  3. Sánchez-Alcaraz Martínez B, Ibáñez J, Díaz J, Muñoz D. Estudio descriptivo de lesiones de pádel: relación con el género, edad, nivel de los jugadores and localización de las lesiones. Revista Andaluza de Medicina del Deporte. 15 de marzo de 2019; 12: 29-34.
  4. Ibáñez JC, Alcaraz BJS, Cañas J. Innovación e investigación en pádel. Wanceulen SL; 2016. 303 p.
  5. Gutiérrez García D, Esparza Ros F. Lesiones en el tenis. Bibliographic revision. Apunts Medicina de l'Esport. 2011 Oct; 46 (172): 189-204.
  6. Humphrey J, Humphrey P, Greenwood A, Anderson J, Markus H, Ajuied A. Musculoskeletal injuries in real tennis. Open Access J Sports Med. 23 de mayo de 2019; 10: 81-6.
  7. Pluim BM, Staal JB, Windler GE, Jayanthi N. Tennis injuries: occurrence, aetiology, and prevention. Br J Sports Med. Mayo 2006; 40 (5): 415-23.

 

 

 

 

Alan bugarin

Alan Bugarin is a lover of sport in general and padel in particular. He likes to make good use of
his time, which is why you will always see him playing sports, once his working day is over like
physiotherapist.

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