Tips for Tennis Players
In honor of the Australian Open, Podiatrist & Human Movement Specialist Dr. Emily Splichal shares some tips for tennis players.
Tune in today at 2pm (EST) to catch the match, but in the meantime here are Dr. Emily's words of advice:
Tennis Sneaker vs. Running Shoe
Footwear is designed for protection and to enhance function. Although not all sports require footwear (hence the barefoot running trend), in certain sports it provides a functional benefit.
Tennis is characterized by multi-directional movements requiring rapid deceleration, pivots and change of direction. This means a shoe must allow enough traction to help in slowing down, but not restrict the pivots or change in direction.
If you look at the bottom of a tennis shoe - You see that it is flat without the typical treads of a running shoe or hiking shoe.
Tennis shoes have begun to take shift towards a more minimal design which follows the trend in minimal running shoes. Studies have shown that we have faster foot control and ankle stability the stronger the small muscles are in the feet. With a direct correlation between strong feet and barefoot training and minimal shoes, tennis shoe design is following suit.
If you look at a running shoe (compared to a tennis shoe) this is designed knowing that running is a primarily linear movement. The way the foot strikes the ground and pushes off is sagittal or linear. The bottom of the shoe reflects this -
Barefoot Training for Tennis Players
Barefoot training for tennis players is very important - despite it being a shod sport. I like to apply what is called "barefoot before shod" which means activate and strengthen the foot (with the core) before putting on the shoes. This means a tennis play should warm up their body and wake up their nervous system (the nervous system controls all our movements) with 5 minutes of foot activation.
After training or playing tennis with shoes would come "foot recovery". I recommend standing on a golf ball or lacrosse ball (or whatever) for 5 minutes after physical activity. This will resent all the fascial tissue and relax the small muscles on the bottom of the foot.
Shoe Size
Wearing shoes a size smaller than your normal size is a perceived advantage because tennis has so many multi-directional movements which are stop & go. Every stop or change in direction will cause the foot to move around in the shoe. Wearing a smaller shoe will prevent this sliding around. The downside is of course you are putting excess pressure on the small digits of the foot and could cause hammertoes, corns, blisters.
Tune in today at 2pm (EST) to catch the match, but in the meantime here are Dr. Emily's words of advice:
Tennis Sneaker vs. Running Shoe
Footwear is designed for protection and to enhance function. Although not all sports require footwear (hence the barefoot running trend), in certain sports it provides a functional benefit.
Tennis is characterized by multi-directional movements requiring rapid deceleration, pivots and change of direction. This means a shoe must allow enough traction to help in slowing down, but not restrict the pivots or change in direction.
If you look at the bottom of a tennis shoe - You see that it is flat without the typical treads of a running shoe or hiking shoe.
If you look at a running shoe (compared to a tennis shoe) this is designed knowing that running is a primarily linear movement. The way the foot strikes the ground and pushes off is sagittal or linear. The bottom of the shoe reflects this -
Barefoot Training for Tennis Players
Barefoot training for tennis players is very important - despite it being a shod sport. I like to apply what is called "barefoot before shod" which means activate and strengthen the foot (with the core) before putting on the shoes. This means a tennis play should warm up their body and wake up their nervous system (the nervous system controls all our movements) with 5 minutes of foot activation.
After training or playing tennis with shoes would come "foot recovery". I recommend standing on a golf ball or lacrosse ball (or whatever) for 5 minutes after physical activity. This will resent all the fascial tissue and relax the small muscles on the bottom of the foot.
Shoe Size
Wearing shoes a size smaller than your normal size is a perceived advantage because tennis has so many multi-directional movements which are stop & go. Every stop or change in direction will cause the foot to move around in the shoe. Wearing a smaller shoe will prevent this sliding around. The downside is of course you are putting excess pressure on the small digits of the foot and could cause hammertoes, corns, blisters.
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