Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Conditions in Tennis-Teaching Professionals

Abstract

Background: Tennis-teaching professionals represent a significant proportion of all avid tennis players worldwide, with 15,000 belonging to the largest professional organization, the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA). However, there is no epidemiologic study to date reporting the prevalence of musculoskeletal conditions in these tennis-teaching professionals. Purpose: To investigate the prevalence of musculoskeletal conditions in tennis-teaching professionals following the International Tennis Federation’s (ITF) guidelines for epidemiologic studies. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study. Methods: Electronic surveys were distributed to 13,500 American members of the USPTA. The prevalence of musculoskeletal conditions was calculated. Results: A total of 1176 USPTA members completed the survey. Most participants reported teaching more than 5 days per week and more than 2 hours per day. The prevalence of musculoskeletal injury secondary to teaching tennis was 42%. The most affected area was the lower extremities (43% of all injuries) followed by the upper extremities (37%). The most commonly injured structures were muscles or tendons (36% of all injuries) and joints or ligaments (28%). The majority of injuries did not cause participants to miss more than 24 hours of teaching (57%). Conclusion: This is the first epidemiologic study on the occupational risk of musculoskeletal injuries and conditions in tennis-teaching professionals. Tennis-teaching professionals have a significant risk of musculoskeletal injuries or conditions related to their occupation. The prevalence of injury is consistent with previously published studies of injury prevalence among other tennis-playing populations. The proportions of upper and lower extremity injuries were fairly equitable.