Tennis Injury Treatment & Performance in Peachtree City, Georgia
You're serious about tennis — leagues, matches, and a competitive edge that hasn't dulled with time. And you're not interested in being told to hang up your racquet just because something's started to ache.
That's who Restorative Care Chiropractic is built for. Tennis demands explosive rotation, repetitive overhead motion, and quick directional changes — and a body past 25 feels the accumulation. Dr. Julie O'Shaughnessy — a serious recreational athlete herself, with a Master of Science in Sports Science — understands the mechanics of the serve and groundstroke and the reality of playing them in a midlife body. She treats the injury, fixes the mechanics behind it, and keeps dedicated players on the court.
Why Tennis Causes Injuries
- Repetitive overhead motion — the serve and overheads place heavy, repeated demand on the shoulder
- Explosive rotation — groundstrokes generate high rotational force through the trunk, hips, and shoulder
- Repetitive gripping and wrist action — strains the forearm tendons and elbow
- Quick starts, stops, and lateral movement — load the knees, ankles, and hips
- Hard court impact — adds cumulative stress to the lower body and spine
- One-sided, asymmetrical loading — repeated to one dominant side, creating imbalances that compound over years of play
Common Tennis Injuries We Treat
Tennis Elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis)
The classic tennis injury — degeneration of the tendons at the outer elbow from repetitive backhand and gripping strain. Because tendons heal more slowly with age, this one can get stubborn. Shockwave therapy and Class IV laser are among the most effective treatments.
Shoulder Pain
The serve and overhead motion make the rotator cuff a frequent site of injury — impingement, tendinopathy, and posterior capsule tightness (a "GIRD" pattern common in overhead athletes).
Low Back & Midback Pain
The rotational, extended serve and repetitive groundstrokes strain the spine, particularly when thoracic or hip rotation is limited — which it increasingly is with age.
Knee Pain
Rapid stops, pivots, and lateral loading stress the knees — patellofemoral pain, tendinopathy, and aggravation of existing wear.
Ankle & Foot Injuries
Quick directional changes and sudden stops make ankle sprains and foot pain common on the court.
Wrist Pain
The grip and repetitive wrist action of every stroke can cause wrist tendinitis and strain.
Serious About Tennis — and Not Slowing Down
Most providers treat a midlife athlete's age as the problem and "stop playing" as the solution. Dr. Julie takes the opposite view. Your body can keep playing competitive tennis in your 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond — it just needs smarter management.
What changes with age is recovery and resilience: the overhead-athlete shoulder gets more vulnerable, tendons (like the elbow) heal more slowly, mobility tightens, and old injuries resurface. None of that means quitting. It means recovering better, maintaining the mobility your strokes demand, and staying ahead of the small issues before they cost you a season — exactly what Dr. Julie's sports science approach and the recovery technology here are built to do.
The Shoulder Every Tennis Player Should Understand
Overhead athletes commonly develop a specific shoulder pattern: the dominant shoulder loses internal rotation and tightens through the back of the joint, while the rotator cuff works overtime to control the serve. Over years of play, and especially as tissue quality changes with age, this pattern leads to impingement, cuff tendinopathy, and a serve that starts to hurt. Dr. Julie assesses for this pattern specifically and addresses the mobility and cuff function that keep your shoulder healthy — care that generic treatment often misses.
How Dr. Julie Treats Tennis Players
- Movement & Mechanics Assessment — identifying the restrictions and patterns behind your injury and your on-court limitations
- Chiropractic & Extremity Care — restoring mechanics in the shoulder, elbow, wrist, spine, hips, knees, and ankles
- Class IV Laser Therapy — accelerates the healing that slows with age and reduces inflammation
- Shockwave Therapy (ESWT) — highly effective for tennis elbow and other tendon injuries
- Soft Tissue Therapy (Vibracusser) — releases the rotational and overhead muscle tension that limits your game
- Return-to-Sport Planning — a clear, staged plan back to full play with re-injury prevention built in
- Kinesiology Taping — support during your return to the court
Frequently Asked Questions
What is tennis elbow and how is it treated?
Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) is degeneration of the tendons at the outer elbow from repetitive gripping and backhand strain. It responds well to shockwave therapy and Class IV laser, which stimulate genuine tendon repair — especially valuable since tendons heal more slowly with age — along with soft tissue work and addressing your mechanics.
I'm past 50 and serious about tennis — am I too old to keep competing?
Not at all. Many dedicated players compete well into their later decades. What changes is that your body needs smarter management — better recovery, maintained mobility, and staying ahead of small injuries. Dr. Julie's approach is built around keeping midlife players on the court, not easing them off it.
My shoulder hurts when I serve. What's going on?
Serving places heavy demand on the rotator cuff and shoulder capsule, and many players develop a pattern of lost internal rotation and posterior tightness that leads to impingement — a pattern that worsens as tissue quality changes with age. Dr. Julie assesses for this specific overhead-athlete pattern and treats the mobility and cuff function behind it.
My doctor said to give up tennis. Do I have to?
Often, no. "Give it up" is the easy answer, but it's rarely the only one. In most cases the real issue is a treatable injury or a fixable mobility or mechanics problem — not your age. Dr. Julie will give you an honest assessment of what it would take to keep you playing.
How soon can I get back on the court after an injury?
Care is built around an efficient, safe return — using laser and shockwave to accelerate the healing that slows with age, while restoring the mechanics that prevent re-injury. Dr. Julie provides a clear, staged return-to-play plan rather than an open-ended timeline.
