Forearm soreness

AzureLon

AzureLon

New Member
Hello Everyone,

Just joined BC as I've been following this forum for a while now and the people and information here are great!

I've been playing badminton for around a year now and as of lately, after every session of badminton (3 hours-4 hours) my forearm top muscle is feeling tender and sore but generally goes away when I play again the week after. I myself is quite an athletic person coming from various sports for many years and during my initial 10 months or so I've not been feeling this soreness.

The racket I've been using is Li-Ning N9ii and tension has been 24lbs, then to 26lbs and lately have switched to 27lbs.

Reason I've gone 27lbs is not because the higher the better logic. I felt like I play better with 27lbs compared to lower tension as I feel the additional control and power I have with the extra tightness.

Question I have is if the soreness is caused by this extra pound of tension (never had problem with 26lbs) or maybe because my technique is getting better and better as I learn how to smash the shuttle with more force?

Another possibility are when I opted for 26lbs at a shop they did not actually string to specification? Because I've bought a stringing machine and have been stringing 27x28lbs myself which might be more accurate?

Keen to hear what feedback everyone has.
 
Hello, since you have been only playing for a year, one thing that you could double check is your technique when gripping the racket. If you are not relaxing your grip after every shot, then sore forearm would be a common result.

Be careful though, because the wrong way of gripping will lead to the wrong way of hitting, which may lead to other injuries like tennis elbow.
 
Just to make sure I understood correctly, you are stringing with your own machine at 27lbs right ? Which is the tension you are using at the moment and since the pain appeared?
 
@guitar_pic I think i do grip the racket from loose to tense but i don't relax after the swing, it's a habit of mine as i am a national volleyball player and i know my gripping technique is probably wrong. Which i am gradually changing, i think i took my arm strength for granted but it's a different sets of muscle group that's been used in badminton.

@LenaicM Yes i've been stringing my own at 27lbs and 26lbs at shops previously. No issues with 26lbs at shop and pain started happening after i string my own with the same racket and same strings.
 
I will probably string 26lbs myself and see if it makes a difference, i suspect the shop did not actually string at 26lbs. But at 27lbs i felt like every shot i do is so crisp and feels so good :(
 
AzureLon said:
@LenaicM Yes i've been stringing my own at 27lbs and 26lbs at shops previously. No issues with 26lbs at shop and pain started happening after i string my own with the same racket and same strings.
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Well unless you are an experinced stringer, depending of your skills and the machine you use, I’d say your problems come from that. What makes it so sure your racket is strung at 27lbs and not more if your machine is not very precise or your stringing skills still in progress. I’d try to first eliminate this possibility by stringing the racket at the same shop at 27lbs and see if that makes a difference.
 
@LenaicM because the machine is a drop weight and there shouldn't be calibration needed. But I will try a shop strung 27lbs and see what happens.
 
AzureLon said:
@LenaicM because the machine is a drop weight and there shouldn't be calibration needed. But I will try a shop strung 27lbs and see what happens.
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Even with a drop weight machine there is room for errors if you are not experienced enough with stringing jobs. By the way I only assume you are not well experienced with stringing as you said you started badminton a year ago. I might be wromgly assuming : ) Either way if you started a year ago and your tension is 27lbs (or higher by accident) it can be a tad high. I will let the experts develop this point further. Personally I started a year ago too, last September 2017 and I get my racket strung at 10.5 kg or 23lbs. I try to increase half a kg every 6 months and always keep one of my two rackets at the previous tension in case. For example next month I will get one to be stringed at 11kg or 24lbs and the backup racket stay at 10.5kg or 23lbs. So I can try and feel the difference or step down to the previous tension if I feel any pain.
 
Thanks @LenaicM and other people's input.

I think i can now drill down to 2 conclusion now.

I've been taking adequate rest and i found myself free from pain this week! It's probably overuse.

Second possibility is that the string tension (from 1360 hertz, to now holds 1290 hertz) dropped a pound or two and i'm now fine with the tension.

But good news is my forearm is trouble free and i am entering my first ever competition in 2 weeks! :)
 
The rotators of the forearm, as well as the muscles of the shoulder and upper arm play a great role in badminton;

Therefore, exercises for developing strength and flexibility play an important role in preventing this damage.
Take care from the symptoms of tennis elbow.
Despite being called tennis elbow, racquet sports are only thought to be the cause in about 5 in 100 cases according to patient.info.
 
RohanMaps said:
Hey was just having a read of this thread and thought I'd just drop this link: https://www.badmintoncentral.com/fo...elbow-recovery-a-guide-to-help-others.179345/
I'm looking to do a helpful guide to recovering from tennis elbow which will involve understanding it and therefore understanding why you have it and why certain treatments are/aren't working. I wish you all the best for your recovery, tennis elbow is a difficult injury.
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Hi Rohan,
I liked your post. I've been suffering from tennis elbow for over a year now. Took 6 months off but this did not heal the tendon, and has been shown to be frayed at the elbow. I've recently had a cortisone and PRP injections and waiting for that to take effect before going back to play.
I have been doing rotator cuff excercises, as I have strong forearms, but had given up swimming around the time my tennis elbow started to develop.
I wanted to ask about the appropriate grip size recommended for a player and the type of racquet that would exacerbate tennis elbow injuries. I have a yonnex duora z-strike, head heavy, and a duora 7, more balanced. I noticed that pain was worse with the head heavy racquet. Both racquets are strung to 26lbs. What are your thoughts on these issues/variables and what would you recommend? Cheers
 
Either:

1. That area is previously not as muscled and is now becoming so ('no pain, no gain') - this seems unlikely based on what you say

2. You are not completing your shots' usual followthrough motion. It's like you are hitting and stop your swing almost after contact. Okay, so you do not actually *stop* since gravity will bring your arm down. But you get the idea.
 
GingerCorslette said:
Either:

1. That area is previously not as muscled and is now becoming so ('no pain, no gain') - this seems unlikely based on what you say

2. You are not completing your shots' usual followthrough motion. It's like you are hitting and stop your swing almost after contact. Okay, so you do not actually *stop* since gravity will bring your arm down. But you get the idea.
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Two good points there! However grip size is definitely a factor that can play into it but that depends on just how big your hands are.
In particular the lack of following through is significant, the sudden stopping action that your forearm will make is very tiring and will make it overworked. In addition to this, I believe this can also affect your rotator cuff as well. Your rotator cuff could also be affected by strength, and general technique, for example when you hit from the back forehand corner you must make sure you don't turn your body too much.

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Franz Villagran said:
Hi Rohan,
I liked your post. I've been suffering from tennis elbow for over a year now. Took 6 months off but this did not heal the tendon, and has been shown to be frayed at the elbow. I've recently had a cortisone and PRP injections and waiting for that to take effect before going back to play.
I have been doing rotator cuff excercises, as I have strong forearms, but had given up swimming around the time my tennis elbow started to develop.
I wanted to ask about the appropriate grip size recommended for a player and the type of racquet that would exacerbate tennis elbow injuries. I have a yonnex duora z-strike, head heavy, and a duora 7, more balanced. I noticed that pain was worse with the head heavy racquet. Both racquets are strung to 26lbs. What are your thoughts on these issues/variables and what would you recommend? Cheers
Click to expand...
Hi there, how many times a week are you playing? To what level? And finally, are you receiving coaching?

Good to hear that you're taking time off, that's a tough thing to do, make sure you incorporate rehab exercises before you go back into badminton. Rest is always good but there has to be some degree of movement, otherwise the muscles will just get damaged again (granulation tissue forms and when you exercise it rips straight away, but, before you exercise it feels good and therefore, feels repaired).

GRIP SIZE

On this subject I would say it's very personal, if you are a fully grown adult with large hands do not use your racket with the same grip size as when you were sixteen. Instead, try putting more grips on, and then practice holding it loose and seeing what feels comfortable, also see how easy it is to switch between grips. I have very large hands and for a while I was using the same grip size as when I was very young. When I tried to change grips I struggled during rallies, especially at high pace.
A small grip size can contribute to tennis elbow, the extensor muscles become overworked when you play for long periods and or many times in a week. The muscles are constantly in a position where they are more stretched than normal, and this leads to a strain injury, being tennis elbow in this case. So I would say definitely play around with grip sizes, measure your hand and let me know how big it is, I'll measure mine and show you my grip as well.




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