Shoulder Injury Ends Sharapova's Olympics

Tennis star Maria Sharapova was recently forced out of the 2008 Beijing Olympics due to a shoulder injury. The world number three was a genuine contender for the gold medal but is now unable to compete having torn two small tendons in her right shoulder. Tests carried out on the Russian confirmed that she had in fact been playing with a moderate tear in her rotator cuff tendon since April.

To find out about Shoulder Injuries - Prevention and Treatment click here.

Any overhead activity that involves the arm being taken often enough from below the shoulder level to above shoulder level has the capacity to damage the rotator cuff. With repeated impingement a poorly conditioned rotator cuff can become damaged. Sharapova is not an athlete you would necessarily expect to suffer from this injury with the most commonly affected athletes being weight trainers who over emphasise the development of their prime moving muscles at the expense of their rotator cuff. Younger athletes who participate in swimming and throwing can also suffer from a more minor version of this injury.

A strong and healthy rotator cuff is essential to an overhead athlete like Sharapova. To significantly reduce the risk of injuring the rotator cuff make sure you keep increases to your training schedule to less than 10% per week. Isolated rotator cuff strengthening exercises can be very effective as part of a pre-participation conditioning programme (full details of these can be found in the full Sports Injury Bulletin Shoulder Report). Strengthening the scapular stabilisers is also needed but this requires expert supervision. However you can perform seated rowing which will strengthen the latissimus dorsi.

To prevent shoulder injuries make sure your upper body strength sessions are balanced. This means that every push or press exercise must be balanced with a pull or row exercise.

This is an example of a balanced upper body exercise plan:

Bench Press (pectorials, anterior deltoid)

Seated Row (rhomboids,mid-trapezius, latissimus)

Flies (pectorals)

Rear lying prone flies (rhomboids, mid-trapezius, rear deltoid)

Lateral raises (anterior mid deltoid, upper trapezius)

Lateral pull down wide grip (latissimus, lower trapezius)

If you are recovering from a shoulder injury it is important that you limit your range of movement and take it easy. You must progress slowly; this will often mean avoiding certain ranges of motion where the shoulder joint sub-acromial space is compressed the most. Avoid lateral raises, upright rows and shoulder press completely for a while. However incline bench press with arm abducted to 45 degrees would be a good choice to start again. During heavy work outs ensure you warm up the shoulder joint and rotator cuff thoroughly prior to lifting.