September 16, 2012

How Hard Is Squash On The Hips?


from Anonymous

I'm hearing about some middle-aged squash players getting hip replacements.

Is squash inherently harder on the hips than other sports, such as tennis, or do all athletes, regardless of the sport, risk hip problems later in life?

3 comments:

  1. Bob Hanscom8:04 PM

    In answer to the article "How hard is squash on the hips?" the answer is...VERY hard!

    Many of the all-time international greats have had either total hip replacement(s) or re-surfacing. Just to name a few are Jonah Barrington, Geoff Hunt, Chris Robertson, Rodney Martin, etc.

    And domestically...what about the well-known Tim Bacon, (Jimmy Connors too) Richard Millman and Eben Hardie of Atlanta!? They've all gone through the process!

    See Tim Bacon's video on the subject at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPdRr01_S7E.

    Ah yes...squash, with all it "herky-jerky," one-sided, twisting movement and pounding, on who knows what kind of floors, has a devastating effect on the anatomy, not only the hips, but the feet, ankles, knees (a few replacements there as well) and back!

    It's been said that Geoff Hunt, experiencing this phenomenon first hand, changed his entire training regimen with the players he trains, having them train off-court, being carefully and cautiously monitored.

    As a squash-player, if one wants to have any longevity in the game at all, it would be wise to recommend they enter into a consistent cross-training strength and flexibility program - and even consult with a physiotherapist to not only evaluate posture, etc. for possible imbalances, but design a program for them.

    As the old adage says: "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," especially in the case of preventing and experiencing first hand: "How hard is squash on the hips."

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  2. A couple of years ago I interviewed a sports medicine orthopedist at NewYork-Presbyterian who also was a squash player. I asked him this question: "How bad is squash on the hips?" He said that the lunging seen in many racket sports can be difficult on hips and the lunging in squash is more frequent and done under greater pressure than the other sports. He gets a lot of hip replacement business from racket sports players, but the presentation of injury he sees on squash players is different: He said the full orbital capsule at the head of the femur can be damaged, as opposed to damage to just portions of the femoral head, which he sees in other racket sports. So, unfortunately, our sport can do the most damage in the hip department....

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  3. Hip resurfaced 2,001 in Brisbane only reminded of it when going thru airport security still playing squash & tennis pain free just turned 80

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