Tennis courts
In 2005, I resurfaced after several years of very intensive work during which just about everything else in my life had taken second place. One of the things I missed most was playing my sport of tennis and the very kind members of my local Tennis Club kept encouraging me to return and leap around in my usually futile attempt to hit the ball over the net.
So I most definitely had the desire to return to tennis but after sitting at a desk peering for many many long hours at a computer screen, I was definitely not in the peak of physical fitness for a man on the wrong side of 50 years old.
Instead of madly rushing into the fray and playing tennis every day, I decided to start slowly with just one club session a week and the intention of building up as I progressed. I also started to walk every lunchtime for half-an-hour to try to improve my general level of fitness.
Stepping back onto the tennis courts was fantastic. I loved it and soon remembered why it had always been my passion. But, within a very short length of time I was injured. In fact the injuries seem to be working their way around my body, attacking different parts of me in turn. It was most frustrating. I kept persevering but I was spending more time off the tennis courts than on them due to injuries. I would just be recovered from one injury and then, when I went back on court, immediately, I would have another one.
Being a fairly gregarious sort of person, I moaned and wailed to the other members of the club who offered me a lot of sympathy but no particular help. That was until I spoke to one particular member who took me to one side and gave me this tip.
“You know Rob, you need to to start taking glucosamine and chondroitin. Everybody else in the club is taking it and it’s probably what’s keeping us all going.”
I have to admit I was pretty sceptical. I have never been a pill taking person and I didn’t really want to start. So I said thank you very much for the tip, took the telephone number that she offered me where I could get the pills and kept on persevering and trying to get back to tennis without being injured.
After a few weeks during which I discovered bits of my body that were prone to injury I had never known existed, I realised that I had very little to lose. Tennis was just not going to happen again for me unless I found some new factor in the equation. Pills, perhaps, were the missing factor.
So off I went to the local health shop to get a second opinion. The lovely ladies in the local health shop were immensely enthusiastic and, without me mentioning anything, immediately recommended glucosmine and chondroitin as a means of hydrating my ligaments and building my body up to withstand the extra exercise of playing tennis.
I have to say that the pills were immensely expensive. However, I wanted to play tennis and this was a solution I had not tried yet. The good lady suggested that I take three rather large bullet shaped tablets a day of the glucosamine and chondroitin, in between meals, for the first couple of months then two a day for the next couple of months and then one a day thereafter as a maintenance dose. I had nothing to lose so I followed her advice.
Several years later, and not only am I playing club sessions at the local Tennis Club but I’m also playing league matches all over my area. I’m not in the ‘A’ team but I’m not in the bottom team either and I’m enjoying every minute of it. I do get injured occasionally, everybody does but my recovery time is quick and I generally feel much fitter and happier for the exercise and the company.
But the story isn’t finished yet. About a month and a half ago, I fell ill with a stomach bug that meant I had to be off food for several days. Everybody had this stomach bug and agreed it was a particularly nasty one. Along with taking no food, I also stopped taking my one a day glucosamine and chondroitin pills.
After a few days, I got better and started eating again but for some reason, perhaps my previous aversion to taking pills, I stopped taking the glucosamine and chondroitin tablets. My fitness level was pretty good and I had been free from injuries for some time. I think my idea was that my body was strong enough now to maintain itself without the help of any pills and my diet is a particularly well balanced one, too, which should help.
Within three weeks, I was back to the old pattern of getting injured again. I couldn’t believe it and persevered stubbornly for another couple of weeks. But the writing was on the wall and I have now decided to return to taking the glucosamine and chondroitin tablets again at a maintenance level of one a day. I expect it will sort me out. I’ll post the results here.
Since taking glucosamine and chondroitin, over the last two and a half years, I have spoken to many people suffering from arthritis and arthritic aches and pains who say they have been helped by these pills. Many of these people are members of my tennis club but by no means all. It seems that lots of people have a good story to tell about this particular potion.
Am I recommending these pills to you the reader? I certainly can’t. I have no medical knowledge nor knowledge of the medical circumstances of individuals who may read this article or knowledge of the chemical properties of these pills.
Can I, with 100% certainty, prove that my reduced level of injuries over the last two years has been because of glucosamine and chondroitin? I’m afraid not.
However, I personally believe that these pills have helped me get back into playing tennis and have very much reduced my incidence of injuries. So I’m passing my story on to anybody who it might help.
Naturally, you should seek professional medical advice from your doctor before taking any pills and before making a substantial change in your exercise regime. I have no medical expertise and can offer no professional advice.
If you suffer from aches and pains, I hope this article about my personal experience has helped.
If you fancy playing a bit of tennis. It’s a great game and good luck with it!
Bye for now
Rob
Rob Hopcott – online author and avid tennis player
