Tennis is a full-body workout, and whether you’re playing singles or doubles, you rely on your arms, legs, hips, and more to help you serve, return, and volley the ball across the net. You might only play at your local country club, or you may be an amateur athlete who’s hoping to make it on the pro tour someday, but whatever the case may be, tennis is a great way to keep your body in shape.
At World’s Best Massage Chairs (WBMC), we can help you find a chair that can help you recover after a marathon match at the latest local tournament, or after you’ve been practicing your serve for hours on end. Giving your body time to rest and recuperate is key to reaching that next level of your game, no matter how old you are.
A Massage Chair vs Traditional Massage
Following a two- to three-hour tennis match, or a particularly intense practice, you may visit the club’s spa for an hour-long massage. If you’re an aspiring pro, your coach or trainer may suggest that you get a massage every week or so to loosen tight muscles and soothe soreness away. While you may have access to a massage therapist, you may not have the time to visit them on a regular basis. Having a massage chair in your home gives you access to effective treatment when it works for you, and you can use it for 10 to 15 minutes a day, helping you relax and unwind.
A chair also helps you target specific muscle groups that may be bothering you, such as your shoulders or your calves. You can ask your massage therapist to focus on these muscles, but you may leave feeling that they didn’t pay quite enough attention to a particular group, or that the pressure wasn’t enough to work away the tightness and tension. With the preset controls on your chair, you can adjust the pressure as necessary, and work on specific muscles for as long as you need.
With a new chair, you can help your body recover between matches, and be at your best every time you step on the court!
Working On Your Tennis Game
No matter if you’re playing tennis for fun, or you’re training to win an upcoming tournament, you’re constantly working on your game. You may need to work on your serve and where it’s placed so that your opponent can’t return it so easily. You may want to play more along the baseline, rather than approaching the net after every shot. Whatever your goal is, massage can help.
As you use your muscles more and more, you’re going to feel sore and you’ll need to give your body time to recover. As you change your game, or focus on one specific aspect of it, you’re going to use certain muscles more than others, or use muscles that haven’t been used as much in the past. This can lead to a lot of pain and soreness, as your body adjusts to the new mechanics of your new serves and returns. Massage can help combat this pain, as it works to improve circulation, which brings more oxygen to your muscles, helping them recover and repair more quickly.
Whatever you’re working to improve in your tennis game, having a massage chair can help your body recover between training and practice sessions. If you’re lifting weights or running to strengthen a certain part of your body or increase your endurance, sitting down in your chair at the end of the day can be a great way to provide your muscles with the treatment they need.
Remaining Active with Tennis
There are many people who take up tennis as a hobby later in life, as a way to remain active and healthy. If you’re over 65, then you may enjoy getting together with friends every weekend or so at your local country club or park to play a few matches and get some good exercise. Tennis can be a great cardio workout, even if you’re not running or returning that much.
However, if you’re just getting started with tennis, then it’s important to remember that your muscles may not react as they once did, or as they do when you play another sport such as golf. Your body is going to need time to adjust to this new form of exercise, and it’s okay to take it slow, especially at first. Playing for 30 minutes may be all that you can do, and using your chair after a workout can help soothe away the discomfort that has set in throughout your body. You’re likely to be sore a day or two after your tennis workout, so you can use your chair several days in a row, even if it’s just with light pressure on certain muscle groups.
How Tennis Affects Your Body
If you play tennis on a regular basis, then you know how the game can affect your body. When you run, your hips, knees, ankles, and feet take the brunt of the impact, and when you serve or return, your shoulders, elbows, wrists, and hands are all involved. The muscles surrounding these joints will constrict and contract, and overextending or overexerting a certain muscle can lead to pain and injury.
When injury happens, you have to either compensate for it by favoring other muscle groups, or you have to take a break from playing for a few days, a few weeks, or a few months (depending on the severity of the injury). Your trainer or doctor may recommend massage as a way to treat the injury, and your chair can help you recover more quickly, especially when paired with medical treatment and physical therapy.
Lower Body Health
If you’re a baseline runner, when you play, then your focus is likely on your footwork and how you move when the ball is in play. You need to be able to run side to side in order to track down a wide shot, and you also need to be able to slide and stop in order to hit the return shot or change direction.
This movement can take its toll on your knees and ankles, so strengthening them could be the key to improving your game. You’re also swiveling your hips in order to get more power behind your shots, so it’s important to maintain good lower body health. With the right chair, you can massage your hips, legs, ankles, and feet so that the muscles around your joints stay healthy and maintain proper function for all the running you’re going to do in the next match.
Upper Body Health
Tennis is a game that requires precision, and that precision comes from knowing how to hold the racket and how to swing it. This movement obviously comes from your upper body, and with healthy shoulders, wrists, and hands, you can make that amazing shot that wins a game for you, or that forces your opponent to make an even better return shot.
If you’re dealing with inflammation in your shoulders, or you’re suffering from the dreaded “tennis elbow,” then massage could be the key to helping you heal. The settings on your chair can help you focus on injured tissue in your shoulders, or ligaments in your elbow that have stretched too far. Speaking with your doctor can help you decide which massage is best, and how you can improve your upper body health in order to have a more effective game.
Finding the Right Massage Chair
At WBMC, we love helping people find the right massage chair for their home or office. With options from leading brands, including Positive Posture and Panasonic, you can discover the perfect option that will help you soothe away sore muscles and relax following your latest tennis match. Whether you’re 65 and playing to stay active, or you’re 18 and your goal is to make it to number one in the world, we have a chair for you.
Better health can be achieved through regular massage, and if you don’t have the time to make a weekly appointment at your local spa, or you like the idea of having access to a massage whenever you want, then look through our best massage chairs today. We’re always happy to answer any questions you may have, and we’ll gladly make a chair recommendation based on your needs and your budget.
