Medical care of junior tennis players

One thing that surprised me after I came to America was the organization of medical care for junior tennis players.  During the entire time that my kid played tennis at different tennis academies, nobody asked me to provide any medical notes that he could play sports. The managers of those academies just asked me to pay money for training.

Only at school was that kind of medical note asked for to participate in physical education. In high school, it was also required in order to play for the school’s team.

I hope it’s interesting to know how medical control of young sportsmen is organized in other countries. For example, in  Belarus, if a kid plays any sport, he has to go through mandatory medical control of his health at specialized sports medical clinics two times a year. If a kid misses this procedure, he is not allowed to attend his workouts or play tournaments until he does.

The whole process of medical control of a junior tennis player takes one or two days. It includes blood and urinal tests, visits to specialized doctors like the ophthalmologist, otolaryngologist, dentist, surgeon, and finally sports physician with many tests, such as the electrocardiogram, stress test on ergometer bike, measurement of blood pressure and heart rate before and after exercising, wrist power, the volume of lungs and so on.

If the physician thinks that a junior sportsman needs more examination, he sends him to do other research, like cardiac ultrasound.

During all big tournaments, organizers have to make sure that a doctor is present for emergency medical assistance for the players.

As far as I know, many European tennis academies and tennis centers have a sports medical doctor on board who organizes consistent control of tennis players’ condition. It prevents overtraining and keeps kids in good physical condition.

Parents, or players themselves, need to listen to player’s feelings during the workouts. Never forget about a proper warm-up and cool-down. If your kid tells you that he doesn’t feel good, just stop playing.

Do not force a young player to go through intense exercise when he is not in good condition. Learn how to measure blood pressure. Make a small experiment. Measure your kid’s blood pressure and heart rate immediately after a workout and then in intervals of 5 and 15 minutes. It tells you how your kid’s organism restores after training.

Remember that if a junior tennis player trains for more than 15 hours a week, his training load is similar to that of an adult athlete. So be very careful and organize some kind of consistent medical control of your kid’s health condition.

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