Why I've Been Gone - Ulnar Impaction Syndrome in Tennis

disclaimer I am NOT a doctor. This is a bit different from my usual videos, thank you for watching.
I also wanted to mention that I've tried everything else before getting to this point: rest, physical therapy, cortisone injection to calm inflammation. Unfortunately, any benefits were only temporary. As soon as I ramped up activity again, no matter how slowly or carefully, the pain returned.
I felt/feel pain on every forehand, forehand volley, serve, and overhead.

[@ccolavbail1804]

Had my ulnar shortening and arthroscopy surgery 3 years ago. Painful but the best decision ever. 1 year to be back to 99%. It’s changed my life, no more arm pain, no more headaches, no more excruciating wrist pain. Good luck!

[@tennistim]

Appreciate you sharing! I'm 5 months out and am still working my way back

[@1228panda]

I’m also 5 months out and my recovery has been kind of slow :( Definitely much better than right after the arthroscopic surgery (my doc ended up saying I didn’t need the ulnar shortening), but I’d say my wrist is still worse than pre-surgery levels.

[@MarkSansait]

Play me 2 days after the surgery. I might have a chance of beating you then. But honestly fast recovery my dude. Big fan.

[@slickshoes510]

Great to hear from you, Tim. All the best with your upcoming surgery and your recovery.

[@crazyguy338]

Best of luck!! Glad to hear you got an accurate diagnosis in the end and will be able to return to the courts in time :)

[@tennistim]

Thanks Nick! Appreciate the kind words

[@EdgeriPlaysTennis]

Praying for your swift recovery! Missed rooting for a fellow Blue Devil so im just glad to see an upload!

[@OdinsMonkey]

Great to see you activate the channel again even if it's not under the best circumstances. 100% please document the recovery.. ideally the ups and downs. Will be super helpful for anyone going through the same in the future. I'm hoping you recover fully by the end of the year and are able to play the new crop of tennis youtubers that have come up since you last uploaded!

[@gonzalolibano6505]

I was a dan of your videos and I missed them. Health is the first, I wish you a great and quick recovery!

[@kunalgarg5423]

I'm so sorry to hear that! I know how frustrating your situation is. I went through something similar a couple of years. It wasn't a wrist problem, but a "nearly" herniated disc. Like your case, it was a result of not one thing but probably a number of activities (tennis, working out, running) that impacted my upper back. I was recommended surgery and told that I may never be able to play tennis again. But thankfully, I stuck to physical therapy and took a 9 month break from tennis and lifting. I'm fully fit now and back to playing tennis 2-3 times a week but have to be careful with my service action (for that reason I don't play as many matches anymore). I also lift a lot less now and am more careful with form and posture. I know your case is more severe, but I really wish you the best. Sounds like the surgery will help you tremendously and since its arthroscopic the recovery should be relatively faster. I would definitely recommend taking your time getting back to working out and tennis. Think long term and make good decisions! I've always enjoyed your videos and insights - keep us posted and again good luck!

[@Patrick-ey3bm]

I wish you all the best with your recovery Tim! Keep us updated if you can, even if its just through community posts!

[@kennethqian6114]

Thanks for bringing awareness to this condition! It was your tennis videos that inspired me to get back into and be more serious about tennis a couple years ago (and record myself playing). Hope surgery went well and you can be on the court sometime soon!

[@CoachAdrian]

Wrist injuries are tough! Hope you recover fully and start playing again soon. Best of luck!

[@Jon88]

Good to hear from you but sorry about the news. All the best for your recovery.

[@dyrdee]

glad to hear from you, glad to hear you're finally getting the care you need in the shitshow that is the american medical system, and glad to hear that you have folks who have rallied around you throughout this entire ordeal. wishing you the best, bro!

[@tonyvu9459]

Wish you a speedy recovery mate

[@dOntBcUt]

Good to hear from you mate, hopefully no dramas with the surgery and best of luck.

[@chenitals]

That boy long! 😉 Good luck with the surgery! Hope you can recover quickly and get back at it

[@tennistim]

Sorry not sorry my bone is extra long?

[@tn21108]

Welcome back! Looking forward to more tennis videos 🔥

[@GambleCasts]

Hey Tim, always appreciated your tennis videos. I'm glad you made this one though, because I didn't even know UIS was a thing, and now I can be aware of it as someone who plays tennis with friends who play tennis. Hope your surgery goes well and you get back to 100% soon!

[@tennistim]

Thanks! I had never heard of it either, but the more I’ve talked with friends with injuries the more it’s come up. Appreciate you following and watching

[@hjplatais2118]

I had a similar issue, am wondering how are you doing after a year ! Keep us posted!

[@sackwhacker]

5 days later, I hope your surgery went well I look forward to hearing those updates!

[@adamcTennis]

Best of luck Tim! Hope you get back to tennis pain-free soon.

[@Aerials357]

Many of us are hoping for an update. Regardless hope you are well now. Might also want to check your non-dominant hand as well.

[@pocketmatch8358]

Once your healed, can’t wait to watch “The Road to UTR 10” series 😄

[@venktennis]

Hope the recovery went well and you are back to playing Tennis.

[@HankHell41]

Where are you at now, Tim? Need ya back

[@luxeyfox]

Can we get an update?

[@fazrifaz2970]

no wonder u been missing ...take care your health bro~

[@my240sx2]

I hope your surgery goes well Tim. Let me know if you want some light hitting after recovery. I teach tennis courses at a local university, played JUCO.

[@kevincarey6953]

Gahh there you are. I’ve still been getting your 5 year old vids in my recommended feed (mostly the shirtless ones 🤔). Good luck man. Maybe I can beat you at tennis now…

[@tennistim]

Lefty lessgo

[@KimchiOishi1]

I got 4 trigger fingers from playing tennis and will probably need to quit tennis for good after a 2.5 yr run. I hope your condition is repairable from surgery.

[@jasonhe6947]

pray for you a successful surgery. Looking forward to seeing you back on the courts.

[@tennistim]

thanks Jason!

[@francislirios9730]

Just a suggestion - probably a good excuse to start learning to play left-handed after the surgery? I had some pain in my right wrist from using the computer mouse for so long, so I learned to use the mouse with my left hand - so now both my wrists hurt. Joke!! My right wrist has healed and now I just transfer hands every time I need. All the best, Tim!

[@tennistim]

Hahah yes balance out the pain evenly ;) I have been playing a bit left-handed. Maybe like a 3.0 - 3.5 level. It's a fun challenge

[@francislirios9730]

@@tennistim There you go! And of course, try a one hander on your backhand! Continue to enjoy the game, Tim. All the best with the surgery.

[@Tennisbull-match-statistics]

There is another KZbinr that had to switch sides and got proficient relatively quickly. Can’t remember his name now …

[@tennistim]

@@Tennisbull-match-statistics would love to know their handle and potentially look for/ask for tips if you’re able to remember!

[@francislirios9730]

Tim, the chatter about you learning yo play LH sounds like a whole new series, “My tennis journey playing left-handed.”

[@rdmalonso1]

Hi Tim. Still not playing?

[@viledeacon9995]

Hey man. Ive never watched any of your videos and im not a tennis player but I found your video because I was looking for information on ulnar impaction syndrom and here I am. was wondering if you had any updates on how your ur surgery went. I use to do kendo once a week but ive had to stop because the pain became so bad. Went to the doctor and sure enough I have a long ulnar on my left arm which is the one doing all the motions (im told that a lot of the issues that kendo people have are very similar to issues that pennis players have, go figure.). In any case, we didnt really explore my options. They told me what they told you. that i could get a surgery to shorten the bone. Or, if its not bothering me outside of kendo i could just stop kendo. or i could try wrapping it and making some space between those bones with tape.

[@vnminotaur]

I love your channel. I hope you get well soon. Maybe, I can contact Nadal's doctor.

[@adimperial]

I self diagnosed myself with this same condition. Did you happen to see Jeffrey Yao at Stanford? That’s how much research I’ve been doing lol. I came across a speech he gave regarding ulnar sided wrist pain. I’m my case it only hurts when doing forehands. Backhands don’t seem to aggravate it at all. I saw hand surgeon who just said it was tendinitis as well. I splinted it for a while then started strengthening but just confused whether I should lay off or strengthen. Did you get surgery yet? Hope you can get back on the courts asap.

[@adimperial]

It seems like so many pros are having wrist issues lately. Korda, Muchova, Raducanu, others

[@TimeManInJail]

i have a tfcc injury, no surgery but i'm having this issue for 4+ year now and it gotten better with slow PT. i hate how long it took and i should of gotten second opinion.

[@nazcarcup]

Im a hockey player and having the same ulnar wrist pain.

[@skeet0rz]

Dang man. Sorry to hear. I hope surgery and recovery goes well. Do you think your technique had anything to do with it? Do you think that if you had stopped at the initial onset of pain you could have avoided where you are now? I've had (and am currently having coincidentally) issues with my non-dominant (left) wrist. Been hitting one-handed backhands for fun but I'm staying away from competition until my wrist improves. Been 4 months so far with only modest reduction in pain.

[@hh-uc3gr]

have you checked with a doc?

[@skeet0rz]

@@hh-uc3gr yeah. He took an xray, didn't see anything obvious. Then he told me to rest for a few months and come back if things didn't improve. Would either be a cortisone shot or MRI. The pain has subsided a lot. I can hit with my ball machine, but I'm worried that it'll deteriorate again after time.

[@IanHom58]

Maybe you can do fitness content mixed in cuz you’ve got a awesome physique!

[@MM-uv6kb]

What's the follow up on the operation? I can't seem to find anything. I hope it was successful.

[@KD-jg5yd]

Seriously, where is Andy Murray now? Qualifier?

[@mbkincaid1]

I always thought your serve had a low amount of wrist movement. I've dealt with elbow pain on and off while as an adult and when it gets worse while playing my forehand motion looks a lot differently

[@tennistim]

Now I know! Less flexible wrist because nowhere for the bones to go :') I already made tweaks like adjusting my semi-western forehand grip about a half bevel more eastern, playing with full multifilament string setup rather than my usual Luxilon poly and multi hybrid, and dropping weight to try and compensate

[@matthewm1603]

Did it get better after the arthroscopy?

[@Kerokaraoke]

Hi, I hope you're doing well! Did you end up needing the osteotomy after the more conservative arthroscopic approach?

[@tennistim]

I'm almost 6 months out from arthroscopy and recovering well! Seems like no need for the osteotomy. Will be making a follow up video soon

[@Kerokaraoke]

@@tennistim that's great news!

[@metapod666]

what do you mean by debris?

[@BackoftheLineTennis]

Hopefully you are still out playing between marriage, life, and all. Cheers Tim.

[@ultimaz100]

it's a myth and brain wash for more than a half century that doctors know everything. fact is they don't know the most, patient is the best doctor in most cases. i am not talking about treating serious illness like cancer. surgeons just want to milk the insurance money by doing unnecessary surgeries in most cases. They also have a strong lobby in Washington to keep the doctor count low and hence creating more demand. just take a look at the charges they bill with your insurance by providing absolutely no service in most cases, where you wait for hours and they spend less than a minute. They seem to be the only profession make easy money without providing any useful service in most cases.

[@pops1pops178]

Same here tfcc tear ulnar pinching need a second opinion

[@gms9073]

Good old Kaiser is always trying to save a buck.

[@tennistim]

Their insurance and business model works fine for most preventative care. But if you need something done more urgently, it can turn into a slog of approvals and yellow/red tape at least in my experience

[@hahalol798]

Injured like thiem .....

[@maxpowers4436]

Just learn left handed like Nadal and have a 1 hand BH lmao!!

[@tennistim]

I've been working on it! Goal is to be like a more measured Shapovalov

[@MarkSansait]

@@tennistim u probably rap better tbh

[@NashTV8]

Exactly, -most Doctors are normal people who don't think outside the box, -which is why I'm NOT vaccinated.

[@howdy0000]

🙄

[@BonerMcStoner_Jake]

Hey man great video! My situation is extremely similar. Is there any way we could have a video call?