And then the Tendenitis comes back...!

[Sidd]

Hello guys..! I know this is an age old topic now but I have to contribute a new finding which is perplexing me and i am really worried about getting it fixed ASAP or else I wont be able to continue enjoying myself...

i have been practicing hard on my grip becasue I knew it was the culprit and only during the last week I figured it out. I was so happy untill two days back as with my solid new grip configuration i was accelerating through the ball nicely and making small 30-40 breaks every now and then .. was missing on big breaks mostly due to concentration etc... untill recently i got my most feared enemy.. shoulder tendenitis .. back in action. I again have sharp pain in my bridge arm shoulder. i tried to overcome it when it got worse the last time but then suddenly it went away on its own and i thought maybe i have done something correctly to make it go and was happy but now that it is back again.. im so upset. also now i have sharp pain creeping in my straight leg foot i have no idea what to do with both of these.

However, i have noticed one small thing.. when i was concentrating on my technique like mostly the grip walk in and pre-shot aiming etc i did not have this pain but now that i have configured my most perfect grip and am enjoying my technique and everything seems to be falling in place, this pain has come back. why is it that when i m playing proper this pain comes back....?

Any ideas on how to get rid of this from the shoulder and also a hint or two about the pain in straight leg foot ... i m having both at the same time so its really devastating for me...!!!

counting on your help!

[sberry]

Doesn't get easier as you get older and the body forgets the repetitive moves and stretches involved so you do have to retrain your body mostly by playing more but stretching beforehand and taking a few painkillers in the hours leading up to playing can help.

Starting again has reminded me I've let my fitness go over the past ten years of sitting at a desk and standing at a bar but exercise, losing weight and playing more will help, as does the tablets. For me anyway.

[hotpot]

Have you ever tried glucosamine . I used to take it when i was in the gym like others and swore by it for the niggles that we had by giving our body a hiding .

[Sidd]

Thanks for the help guys... I am really indebted. Sometimes simple things do not come to mind. There I was always cursing my technique to be flawed in terms of these pains like stance etc but never gave thought to the fact that:

I am 35 years old now
I weigh 125 KGs (yes I am FAT and I know that LOL)
My work is mostly sitting at my seat
I exercise almost 0 minutes per year

I once saw Hendry's video while he was exercising at the gym. I guess I should immediately stop worrying about technique failure thereby bringing these pains and accept the reality and start daily exercising a little and keeping myself fit and reducing some kgs... I have not tried the med you recommended but i will re-srart some pro-vit ASAP now.

[sberry]

Apparently every pound lost is like 4 pounds less pressure on the knees, or something like that. I've been meaning to lose a few KGs myself but as I carry it okay I've not bothered but playing snooker again made me realise I'm not slim and supple anymore which helps for snooker. Voltarol or anadin extra helps for aches and pains and I've bought some glucosamine but not used it yet as I've recently ignored the weights.

Getting older is no fun and snooker isn't a highly physical sport but those years of indulgence at the bar and sitting at the desk add up and if we want to get back to a decent standard again it's all about limiting the factors that hinder us - no point concentrating on stance, grip, cue, action, etc, without trying to make it easier in all areas.

[DeanH]

(I maybe repeating myself here...) maybe something to keep in kind for the future if nothing else helps, when I had tenonitis in both elbows some years back, after many attempts (physio, laser, injections, magnets, etc) the one thing really did help was acupuncture, after four treatments I had my lift back.
cheers

[Terry Davidson]

Sidd:

I think your most important solution is to lose some weight and get down to around 85kg or so. Secondly I would recommend finding a good physio and take your cue with you and show him/her what you are actually doing in your set-up and if the physio is any good he/she should be able to give you some good daily exercises which should solve the problem.

In addition, acupuncture will also work too. My wife is a qualified physiotherapist and also acupuncturist and she uses both methods to alleviate pain. She also takes glucosamine herself, so I would guess she approves of that too. Try each solution as I'm sure one will work for you.

Terry

[alabadi]

I don't think its a fitness issue, however being overweight might impact on the knees.

I consider myself quite fit for my age, i am 48 now, i go to the gym 3-4 time a week, and have done for the last 15-20 years or so. i have accumalated many injuries over the years of pounding my body with iron from shoulder, knee, back, neck ..etc, you name it i have had it.

but when i play snooker i rarely feel any ill effects or pain, however, around a month ago i tried changing the position of my cueing arm by keeping my shoulder higher to make it more vertical and in line with the line of aim. i practiced for a few hours with this new technique but the next day i was in tremendous pain from my shoulder upper back and neck, it was almost like i had pulled a muscle or something, i could hardly look up. i couldn't even practice for a couple of days, so had a rest.

when i went back to practice i thought i will continue doing the same thing to give my body time to adapt, the same thing happened but on the other side of my upper back and neck, i think that the stress put on the shoulder joint trying to hold it in that un natural high position was causing all sorts of problems that were not there before.

i have now stopped doing this and the pain has gone away, i gave my body enough time to adapt however it kept telling me NO

Alabbadi

[Sidd]

Thanks for your support and suggestions guys. I will try and see what works best for me. I think, as terry and others suggested, there is no substitute to loosing some weight and I will find some time and try to loose a few extra pounds hopefully. However, I noticed two things yesterday and wanted your comments of those as well:

1. I went in yesterday and played non-stop for almost 4 hours and had no pain whatsoever in my straight leg foot. I was wearing my comfy trainers and I think the foot pain was being caused due to eearing those easy sandals or softies or slippers. i have decided now that whenever i go and play i shall wear proper dress shoes or trainers. do you guys think that the pain might have come due to wearing slippers / sandals ?

2. I went ot the table alone and went down on the shot 9without any balls) and felt that stifness creeping in to my shoulder and the pain again in the bridge arm shoulder muscle. I wanted to experiment something and I guess it may have something worth. While down on the shot I concentrated on how my shoulder feels stiff and tense a little so i moved my bent leg apart. I normally play with both legs shoulder width apart (i think so at least) so as soon as I took my bent leg apart and increased the gap a little more between the legs the shoulder seemed to relax and the pain feeling suddenly reduced. I felt it that way. Another thing is that I normally do not swivel or twist my hip because in my normal stance when I go down I have a decent gap in between my grip hand and hip so I never thought of twisting my hip a little in order to have that gap. But yesterday when i moved my bent leg further out a little I had to bend my hip as well...

Any thoughts on the above are welcome and anticipated. These two points may solve my tendenitis and foot pain ....so.... looking forward!

[Terry Davidson]

Sidd:

You should be playing in shoes which have good arch support, especially as you are carrying some extra weight. Think about it...in a longer session of snooker you probably walk somewhere up to 5km and you should have good shoes on your feet. It seems pretty obvious to me this is where your foot pain is being generated.

The way to resolve your bridge arm shoulder pain is to take the stress or tension off of it. You might have found a solution yourself already, but the sure-fire method is to get down normally (with no balls) and when the strain is there then shut your eyes and make adjustments to various parts of the body until the strain disappears. Then go with that in your normal set-up, remembering that COMFORT is the primary consideration in the snooker set-up

Terry

[throtts]

Hi Guys,

I agree with Terry with regard to footwear. I wear my Saucony Hurricane running shoes during practise, they are so comfortable.

Also, I use to suffer from the bridge arm shoulder pain but since chatting to Terry I now slightly bend my bridge arm and now the pain is gone.

I really believe a good fitness standard helps you in snooker. I workout 1 hour every day, weigh 73kg and can get in some leg cock weird positions, on a snooker table that is . Sidd, might be worth looking in to where you could possibly introduce some sort of healthy programme. I know that's not easy though.

All the best..

[Terry Davidson]

Those players who play in sandals or those thong 'flip-flop' things are asking for pain. A player might be on his feet for up to 4hrs at a time and needs good footwear with good arch support. This is especially true for those players (like Sidd) who are carrying a bit of extra weight and they will notice some pain in the ankles and knee joints and probably even on the ball of the foot and perhaps even the hip joint if they wear footwear that has no support.

It may not be a big deal for a young player under 25yrs but I can assure you it will get pretty painful for those players who are a little older. I got 'blessed' with flat feet at a very young age from my Navy new entry training, which had a lot of marching and 'doubling' (like jogging) with a full back pack and rifle. I've always had to wear very good footwear when playing snooker or even walking and now I wear orthopedic shoes with a strong arch support and don't experience any discomfort at all in my legs, feet or hips. (I weigh about 88kg or around 195lbs but am just under 6ft, so not too much extra weight either).

Terry

[CueAce]

A couple of other things which might help could be to put less weight on your bridge arm which reduces pressure on the shoulder and also to spread your weight more evenly across the forearm if more of your weight is on the bridge hand only

[Sidd]

Thanks for all your answers guys. Terry you are right, the foot pain is suddenly gone. Since I noticed it may be coming from the footwear I went in again yesterday and wore some good trainers and there is no such thing as pain in my foot at all... So it was just the footwear punishing my age you know in winters I really enjoy going for snooker so I would go in full formal dress and dress shoes, shaven and tidy; every day as i love it but when its the summers hmmmmmmm I am so scared of the Pakistani summer guys- so I change to shorts, t-shirt and sandals etc but not anymore now; no matter what i am wearing i shall take caution for wearing proper trainers or shoes.... I am happy this foot pain went away quickly as I had guessed on time that it must be the shoes.

The bridge arm shoulder pain is not gone as yet. I have started taking Centrum multivitamin for under 50 men and am planning to continue the suppliment. I might occassionaly resort to ibruphen (not my favoured option though- I am a fighter so am interested more in treating the pain without meds to the extent that I can). Anyway, this shoulder pain, now that its back again, is my new challenge. i will try this out Terry my dear by closing my eyes and tying to note the tension and adjusting to remove it. The problem is that I am not sure what is causing it; but perhaps it has ot be the stance. I also noticed another thing that when I play different shots my feet are positioned differently and not in a similar fashion on all shots- since Terry has taught me the pre-shot setup I go down on the shot having my eyes-nose fixed on potting spot and i position my feet by sliding my straight leg under my eyes or on the line of aim without ever looking down and perhaps my stance setup is not consistent...just a thought not sure. Secondly I have a big doubt that i am putting more weight on the bridge arm side of my body so will need to check that out as well...

I will update on progress related to this... whenever get some relief from this pain.

[hotpot]

Sidd if youre going to get regular supplements then i recommend simply supplements online . They are really cheap and their products are quality for half the price youd pay in a shop .