Tennis, pickleball, badminton, swimming, and baseball rely on repetitive upper-body mechanics — and those mechanics create overuse injuries that need specialized treatment.
Racket and overhead sports place enormous repetitive stress on the shoulder, elbow, and wrist through serve motions, groundstrokes, throwing, and swimming strokes. These injuries develop gradually as cumulative microtrauma exceeds the tissue’s ability to repair itself. Treatment must address not just the painful tissue but the biomechanical and strength deficits that caused the overload in the first place.
Sports in this category: Tennis, Pickleball, Badminton, Squash, Swimming, Baseball (Pitching), Cricket, Volleyball (serving). At Move to Motion in Surrey, we treat athletes across all of these disciplines with sport-specific physiotherapy protocols. Serving Newton, North Delta, Cloverdale, and the greater Surrey area.
7380 King George Blvd #600, Surrey · Mon–Fri 8am–7pm · Sat 9am–2pm
Inflammation and degeneration of the forearm extensor tendons from repetitive wrist and forearm use. Common in tennis, pickleball, and badminton. Progressive tendon loading and grip modifications are key. Elbow pain →
Inflammation or tears from repetitive overhead motions. Ranges from tendinopathy to partial and full-thickness tears. Strengthening the rotator cuff and scapular stabilizers is foundational. Shoulder pain →
Compression of the supraspinatus tendon and bursa during overhead reaching. Caused by poor scapular mechanics, rotator cuff weakness, or technique errors. Manual therapy and corrective exercise resolve most cases.
Specific to throwing sports like baseball and cricket. The ulnar collateral ligament is overloaded by repetitive valgus stress during the throwing motion. May require Tommy John surgery in severe cases. Elbow pain →
TFCC tears, de Quervain’s tenosynovitis, and scaphoid fractures from racket impact and grip stress. Hand therapy provides specialized rehabilitation. Hand pain →
Overuse injury caused by the repetitive overhead arm motion in freestyle and butterfly strokes. Involves rotator cuff tendinopathy and labral irritation. Stroke mechanics assessment and scapular retraining are essential.
Repetitive overhead loading inflames the long head of biceps or tears the superior labrum. Common in swimmers, baseball pitchers, and tennis players serving at high intensity.
Reduced thoracic rotation limits shoulder range and forces compensation in the elbow and wrist. Thoracic mobilization and rotation exercises restore normal mechanics and reduce downstream overload.
Your first session includes a sport-specific assessment — we evaluate not just the injured area but your entire movement chain, strength baselines, and the specific demands of your sport. From there, we build a phased rehabilitation plan: early protection and pain management, progressive loading and strength rebuild, sport-specific conditioning, and return-to-play testing.
We use objective criteria — not just how you feel — to determine when you’re ready. Hop tests, strength ratios, movement quality screens, and sport-specific drills ensure you return with confidence. If prehab could have prevented your injury, we’ll build a prevention program into your discharge plan.
Tennis elbow affects the outer elbow (lateral epicondyle) from wrist extension overload. Golfer’s elbow affects the inner elbow (medial epicondyle) from wrist flexion and gripping. Both are treated with progressive tendon loading and technique correction.
Often yes, with modifications. We may adjust your grip size, reduce session duration, or modify your technique while treating the underlying issue. Complete rest is rarely needed for overuse injuries.
Tendinopathy typically improves in 6–12 weeks with consistent strengthening. Partial tears may take 3–6 months. Post-surgical full-thickness repairs follow surgeon protocols of 4–6 months minimum.
Not always. Your physiotherapist can assess shoulder function clinically. If a tear is suspected or progress stalls, we’ll refer for ultrasound or MRI. Many shoulder issues respond to physio without imaging.
Yes. Focused shockwave therapy combined with progressive tendon loading is highly effective for chronic tennis elbow that hasn’t responded to other treatments.
Surrey, BC · Serving Newton, North Delta & Cloverdale · Direct Billing
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