Getting the BEST out of your Squash Game

Years working as a sports-focused chiropractor, it has become increasingly more obvious how ill-prepared most amateur, and even semi-professional sportspeople are for their chosen sport.

Now, it’s no surprise that Squash is my preferred “playing” sport of choice, which I only started taking seriously in my early 20’s. But in fact, it was the arena that I responded to my very first First Aid Incident - a ruptured achilles. I initially thought it was a sprained ankle, until I realised I was touching the back of the shin bone rather than what should have been there… the achilles.

Now as a qualified professional I see more and more 20, 30, 40, 50 year old squash players not doing the fundamental things that could prevent injuries such as groin strains, ankle sprains, and even back pain.

So here are few things that every squash player should be doing to look after their body, no matter what level you play at:

1. Stretching…

Now there’s two different types of stretching, dynamic and static. Think of dynamic as small repetitive movements of your body, such as swinging your arm around in a circle or swinging your leg back and forwards. Static stretches should give you year 9 PE vibes - standing on one leg, holding your heel to your bum for 10 seconds. Well, 1 is good for before sport and 1 is good for after sport. Always dynamic before sport - it preserves the muscles ability to produce quick bursts of power. Static stretching is best for after sport - it allows the lengthening of overly worked muscles.

2. Sports Massage.

Before I get in to this bit, I must highlight something. I HATE stretching! Personally, it bores me and I usually have somewhere else that I need to be after playing. So I trade off the after sport stretching with more regular than suggested massages. If like me you cannot be bothered, or find it difficult to stretch then you should be having a sports massage 1x every 3-4weeks. If you’re a dedicated “stretcher” then you can get away with every 4-6weeks. But the key point is… YOU NEED IT! It helps improve the flexibility of the muscles, which in turn reduced the tightness around the joints of the body. And it should be a Deep Tissue or Sports Massage - there should be a few choice words throughout.

3. Ice.

A hugely valuable tool if you’ve felt a twinge or niggle whilst playing. As quick as you can after getting off court, get yourself some ice on the area or even some Biofreeze - it’s an ice alternative gel. It’s not cheap, but it is the best on the market in my professional opinion.

You’re never too old to start this little process of looking after yourself, so if you’re thinking “it’s too late for me!”, it really isn’t. And if you’re looking for a quick result, then this isn’t it - this is an effective way of preventing injury and looking after your body whilst elongating your squash or racketball lifespan.

Tournament squash is slightly different as time is the enemy. A short firm massage 30-60min before going on court is perfect, hence why we only offer 15min massage appointments at events. And then a thorough stretching session after each match is the perfect remedy to ease working muscles.

I’ll include some afiliate links to some of my favourite tools and gadgets to help you on and off court:

Massage Gun - https://amzn.to/44B7D7X
Biofreeze - https://amzn.to/42qoPM7
Foam Roller - https://amzn.to/3RZ5BqC

By Ben Boulter, MSK Practitioner & Clinic Owner
(More tins than nicks!)