A badminton injury can really jeopardise your enjoyment of the sport, even to the point where you are forced to stop altogether. Sports injuries are unfortunately something we risk every time we step on the court. But by taking the right steps, we can help to mitigate the risk of these injuries and continue to enjoy the sport we love.
Just a note before we start, I am not doctor, nurse or have any medical training. Therefore I will not advise on treatment of injuries but more suggest generic common-sense methods to help the injury.
Injury
An injury is damage to the body that prohibits the natural function of any part of it. They can be a minor inconvenience in your life as a badminton player, or they can have severe, long-lasting effects. The following video (from Badminton Trick Shot) shows a number of injuries that have occurred at the professional level.
Common Areas of Badminton Injuries
Badminton is a high impact, explosive sport. Therefore it’s common for injuries to occur at the joints, lower back and the legs. In particular, injuries occur in the below body parts:
- Shoulder. Shoulder injuries could be the result of poor technique, using a racket that is too stiff, too heavy or even too light. Badminton incorporates a lot of overhead shots which put a fair bit of pressure on the shoulder joint and muscle.
- Ankle. The speed of movement in badminton is very fast. Ankle sprains are very common. This could be caused by poor footwork, rolling on the ankle or simply slipping on some excess perspiration on the court. As mentioned below, the correct footwork and footwear are absolutely imperative to provide the support required to reduce the risk of this type of injury. Always ensure the court is safe to play on and do not hesitate to remove anything that could cause slippage.
- Elbow. Injuries in the elbow region can be caused by an overextension of the elbow. Often when playing an overhead backhand shot. Tennis elbow is a common injury that can occur from repeated extension and retraction of the elbow joint/wrist or gripping the racket too tightly.
Avoiding a Badminton Injury
While you cannot rule out an injury 100%. There are steps you can take to ensure that you mitigate the risk.
Warm-Up & Stretching
It’s amazing how many people don’t do this. Most avoidable injuries occur as a result of not warming up before playing. It is particularly important bearing in mind a lot of the halls we play in can be very cold. A cold body is much more likely to become injured.
Most of us get on court and start knocking up. This is not an adequate warm-up. Your whole body is cold at this point. We all understand there’s limited time on court and we want to maximise our playing time. But if this is the case arrive 15 mins earlier to warm up properly if possible.
A good warm-up will get you sweating before you even get on court. It should not be anything strenuous, just enough to get your blood flowing and breathing a little more. Jogging on the spot, star jumps, heels down and knees up when done in succession would be a generic warm-up sequence. The idea is to warm the whole body in preparation for playing.
You shouldn’t stretch a cold body as the muscle has more tension. After warming up they become more pliable. My approach to stretching is starting with the neck and working your way down the body. This way you don’t miss anything and ensures you’re ready for the court.
Dynamic stretching is considered better for warm-up as it puts the body through natural movements. Static stretching is the traditional method of stretching which involves stretching a muscle and holding that position. This is not considered as beneficial and can actually be detrimental to performance. A good dynamic stretching routine can be seen in the below video, working on all areas of the body.
Learn The Correct Technique
Most casual players and even some league players play badminton incorrectly. That is their footwork, racket strokes and even grip can be a catalyst for an injury. A good coach will help you with the right technique. If you don’t build the right foundations in your badminton game, you are more likely to injure yourself. In particular, your footwork is the most important thing to get right from an early stage.
If you’re fairly new to the sport this is the best time to have a coach to show you how to play properly. New players are still green so its easier to mould them into how they should be playing. Particularly children and teenagers even into young adulthood.
If you’ve been playing the sport a while it will be hard to break bad habits. Correcting your strokes and footwork may feel uncomfortable and you might regress back. However, stick with it because it might save you a lot of problems later on and your badminton will improve a lot too! Of course, many people play badminton “incorrectly” and without injury. But I have known players to play overhead shots with an incorrect action and they’ve cause irreversible damage to their shoulder.
Right Footwear
Badminton shoes are the most important equipment in your badminton bag. They are designed to give your feet and ankle maximum support. Wearing running shoes, as I’ve seen a lot of people do, does not give you the same support and you are at greater risk of a sports injury. Running shoes are designed to support movement in one direction. Badminton shoes help to support you through a wide range of directions including laterally. Running shoes do not offer the same support here so you are much more likely to roll on your ankle than with badminton shoes.
Badminton shoes also provide a much more stable base for your movement as they tend to be a little wider to support the lateral movement. Although you might not think you move sideways too much, every time you do a split step, your feet move laterally. So basically every shot you play involves a lateral movement one way or another.
Lastly, they provide much more grip on the indoor surface of a badminton court. This allows for better movement. Running shoes do not have the same grip and a slip could mean a torn ligament or pulled muscle. So use the right equipment for the job.
Strength Training
Strength Training is very important for any sport. Particularly for dynamic, high impact sports such as badminton. Strength training doesn’t just build muscle, it also helps to strengthen ligaments and tendons. This means the weaker areas of your body (i.e. joints) are less prone to injury if you build the strength of the surrounding muscle to support them.
Photo: The Star
Badminton is a sport where one side of your body is more dominant (your racket side). As a result, this side is normally stronger than the other. This goes unnoticed by most players. When you play a harder game, you might notice this imbalance. You may be forced to move a certain direction and push-off on your weaker leg. The muscle may not be able to cope as it’s not normally under so much stress. This can cause tears or strains. Make sure your body is balanced evenly to cope with the demands of the game.
Most actions have more than one muscle involvement. It’s not even necessarily that an injury will occur on the non-racket side, it could just be because of a weaker supporting muscle. Many muscles work together to provide the required output. The actions of the stronger muscle may put excess force on the weaker muscle. For example a smash stroke involves the use of the shoulder, triceps, chest and forearms. If your tricep is relatively weaker than the other muscles involved, it can cause an injury. Therefore it’s important to focus on all areas of your body in strength training.
Of course, strength training comes with its own issues of doing it safely and you should consult with a doctor before beginning a strength training routine and carry out the exercises safely and with the correct form.
Knowing your Limits
A tired body is much more susceptible to injury. If you’ve reached your limit, you should stop playing. You body needs time to recover. It’s important to push your body in order to get better at something but not to the point where you are suffering because of it. In a match we all want to push ourselves to win. This is the essence of sport. However you need to look after yourself as well to fight another day.
Understanding Your Body
Similarly to the above, do not ignore the warning signs of your body. Pain is the body’s way of telling you something is wrong. If you choose to ignore this then you are risking a badminton injury. We are all guilty of feeling a little niggle and playing through it. Sometimes it works out OK. But if the pain is persistent, you should stop and consult a doctor. Don’t wait until the pain is so great or an injury occurs that it forces you to stop playing. Take the initiative.
What To Do If You Get An Injury
- Stop Playing Immediately. Even if it’s a minor injury, you do not want to be aggravating it.
- Reduce Inflammation. Common badminton injuries often result in inflammation, for example, a sprained ankle or injury to the rotator cuff. In these instances, you should apply ice onto the injured area (not directly onto the skin) to help inflammation and take ibuprofen in the correct dosage if there is some available. If you are unsure of your tolerance to any medication, do not take any and consult with your doctor first.
- Rest. After the injury occurs, the best thing to do is rest it and let it recover. Make sure the injury is fully recovered before getting back on court. Otherwise you risk aggravating it. How long recovery takes will depend on the severity of the injury.
- Rehabilitation Exercises. A doctor or physiotherapist might be able to recommend some gentle exercises to help ease you back into movement of the damaged area. Normally injuries in badminton occur around a joint so these exercises will help you regain a full range of motion again around the affected joint. Forcing movement through an injured area may worsen your injury and add time to your rehabilitation period.
- See a Doctor. An obvious suggestion but one which many people ignore. If the injury is persistent, not healing, causes problems to your everyday life or you just want to be on the safe side, a doctor is the right way to go. If the injury is more severe, obviously this should be your first port of call.
- Don’t Be Stupid. I have seen a guy wear a cast over his foot and still, he played a tournament, diving around the court to retrieve shots. I also know a doctor who had surgery on both her knees and was told not to play for six months. Two weeks after surgery she was back on court. There is no cure for stupidity but don’t risk everything just to play. If you’ve suffered a bad injury, always take your doctor’s advice. Don’t get back on court because you want to. Get back on because you are fit and able to.
Badminton Injury – The Final Word
Sports injuries can occur even though you have taken all the necessary steps to prevent one. Professional players still suffer injuries despite doing everything they can to avoid it. They also have a team of physiotherapists and other medical professionals available to them. We are not afforded such a luxury so it’s important to take care of our bodies in any way we can.
Most people do not follow all the steps above to avoid injury. Probably most commonly not warming up. This is the biggest contributor to a badminton injury and indeed most sports injuries. Most leisure centres will have a first aid kit and trained person to deal with minor injuries. Always seek medical assistance.
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