Your shoulder may hurt when you hit high backhands in tennis because the arm is reaching up and across repeatedly, putting extra stress on the rotator cuff and shoulder muscles during contact.
Your shoulder may feel sharp, tight, weak, or sore right as you reach for a high backhand because the shoulder is being forced into an awkward overhead position repeatedly during play. The rotator cuff and shoulder blade muscles often become overworked when high balls keep pulling your arm upward and away from your body, especially if the shoulder is already tight or fatigued.
You may notice the pain most when the ball jumps higher than expected and you have to reach up quickly to make contact. The shoulder can feel fine during lower shots, then suddenly grab or pinch during high backhands where the arm lifts higher and rotates across the body. Sometimes the pain fades once the rally slows down, then returns again on the next high shot.
You might also feel stiffness afterward when lifting your arm overhead, reaching into a cabinet, or serving later in the session. Repeated high backhands can leave the rotator cuff and shoulder blade muscles feeling tired and less responsive, especially when practice sessions are long or the shoulder never fully loosens up between matches.
The Shoulder Grabs Right As You Reach Up For The Ball
You may feel a sudden pinch or sharp soreness during the upward reach before contact.
High backhands force your shoulder into a position that can feel awkward and strained if the muscles around the joint are already tight or tired. You may notice the pain most on balls above shoulder height where the arm has to lift fast and stabilize at the same time.
The Shoulder Feels More Sore As The Session Goes On
You might notice the shoulder starts feeling weaker and tighter later in practice.
Early in the session the shoulder may only feel mildly stiff, but repeated backhands can gradually make the area feel heavy, restricted, or painful during follow-through. Once the shoulder muscles fatigue, even routine backhands can start feeling rough or unstable during contact.
Why Your Shoulder Could Be Taking Longer To Heal
Your shoulder has a hard time healing when blood flow and circulation are limited.
Tendons, ligaments, and other soft tissues naturally receive less blood supply than many other parts of the body. Because of this, they often take longer to heal after repeated stress or injury, leaving you more vulnerable to lingering pain and a cycle of reinjury.
When circulation through the area remains limited, injured tissues have a harder time receiving the vital oxygen and nutrients they need to repair and heal. This can leave your shoulder feeling stiff, tight, weak, or painful during everyday movement and activity.
What Can Help Your Shoulder Feel Better
Your shoulder starts feeling better when blood flow and circulation improve.
Chinese herbs have been used for centuries to promote healthy blood flow and circulation. Their medicinal properties help break up stagnant blood and fluids that remain trapped around injured tissues, interfering with circulation. As circulation improves, blood flows more freely through the area, allowing those tissues to receive the oxygen and nutrients they need to heal properly.
Topical herbal remedies made with these Chinese herbs can help relieve pain while improving blood flow and circulation to injured tissues. The right product depends on your symptoms and whether you're in the acute or chronic stage of recovery.
If you have pain, swelling, inflammation, or bruising, Acute Sinew Liniment helps relieve these symptoms by increasing circulation and dispersing stagnant blood and fluids around the injured area to speed recovery. During the acute stage of healing, getting circulation moving early allows injured tissues to receive the fresh blood, oxygen, and nutrients they need to repair and heal.
If your injured area is especially swollen, red, or warm to the touch after a recent injury or flare-up, Sinew Herbal Ice is also used to reduce swelling and inflammation while restoring normal circulation so you can quickly regain range of motion. While traditional ice is commonly used to reduce swelling, Sinew Herbal Ice acts as an ice alternative to reduce swelling and inflammation while also dispersing accumulated blood and fluids to speed the healing process.
If you no longer have swelling or inflammation, but still have pain, stiffness, weakness, or sensitivity in cold and damp weather, Chronic Sinew Liniment helps relieve these symptoms by strongly stimulating circulation and increasing blood supply to injured tendons and ligaments to promote their healing. This is especially important because tendons and ligaments naturally receive less blood supply, which is why chronic injuries can take longer to heal.
If you have residual pain and stiffness, or the area becomes more painful in cold weather, Sinew Injury Poultice is also used to significantly stimulate circulation to injured tendons and ligaments to further promote their healing. By strongly increasing circulation, it counteracts the reduced blood flow caused by cold weather that commonly aggravates chronic tendon and ligament injuries.
If you exercise, play sports, or do other strenuous activities, Sinew Sports Massage Oil warms and stimulates muscles for exertion and relieves muscle tightness and soreness after activity. Warming and preparing your muscles before activity can improve flexibility, enhance performance, and reduce the risk of injury.
Frequently Asked Questions
You may also find these commonly asked questions helpful.
Why does my shoulder only hurt on high backhands?
High backhands place the shoulder in a more elevated and stretched position, which can stress tired rotator cuff muscles more than lower shots.
Can high backhands irritate the rotator cuff?
Yes. Repeated reaching and rotation during high backhands can overload the rotator cuff, especially during long tennis sessions.
Why does my shoulder feel weak after tennis practice?
The shoulder muscles may become fatigued from repeated overhead movement, leaving the arm feeling heavy, sore, or unstable afterward.
Should I stop playing if my shoulder hurts during backhands?
If the pain keeps worsening, affects your swing, or lingers after activity, reducing activity and getting the shoulder evaluated is a good idea.
Why does the pain return even after warming up?
The shoulder may loosen temporarily once you get moving, but repeated high shots can continue stressing areas that are still recovering.
Recommended Products
New to Sinew Therapeutics?
Enjoy 10% off with code WELCOME10.
• Acute Sinew Liniment — Used when pain, swelling, and inflammation are present to relieve pain, reduce swelling and inflammation, and increase blood flow and circulation to injured tissues.
• Sinew Herbal Ice — Used when the injured area is especially swollen, red, or warm to the touch to reduce swelling and inflammation while restoring normal circulation and range of motion.
• Chronic Sinew Liniment — Used for pain and stiffness after swelling and inflammation are gone to relieve pain, strongly stimulate circulation, and promote the healing of injured tendons and ligaments.
• Sinew Injury Poultice — Used for chronic tendon and ligament injuries to significantly stimulate circulation and promote deeper tissue recovery.
• Sinew Sports Massage Oil — Used before or after activity to warm and stimulate muscles, increase circulation, relieve tightness, and improve flexibility in muscles and joints.
Related Articles
You may also find these articles helpful.
The information provided here is intended to help you better understand your symptoms and recovery, but it is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Persistent, severe, or worsening symptoms should be evaluated by a qualified healthcare professional.
