To play tennis competitively, one of the important keys to success is your serve. Traditionally, the player lobs the ball over his or her head (2-3 inches higher than the vertical reach of the racket), then brings the racket over the head and hits it as hard and clean as possible.
Although Stephanie Farrar is a competitive tennis player for Ball State University, her serve is anything but traditional. She serves the ball underhand.
Farrar's technique is not revolutionary. Unfortunately, her body will not cooperate with a normal serve. Farrar has a herniated disk.
Pain and other symptoms can develop when the damaged disc pushes into the spinal canal or nerve roots. Disc herniation occurs when the annulus fibrosus breaks open or cracks.
"Your body is just one big kinetic chain in tennis," said Casey Chambers, assistant athletic trainer at Ball State. "The twisting, pounding, sliding, things like that can make your lower back hurt. It's everything all at once."
Farrar is a sophomore from Phoenix. Before she came to Ball State, she had no previous back problems. Her first problem developed when she picked up her tennis bag after a victory.
"I actually fell this year, and that's when it started to get real bad," Farrar said. "Last year, I just bent over to pick up my tennis bag and my back froze."
Farrar has played three doubles matches, all with Katie Owens, where she was forced to serve underhand. Amazingly enough, she has a 2-1 record in those matches.
To even get to that point, Farrar goes through regular rehabilitation and physical therapy. For three hours a day (Monday-Friday) she is in the training room with Chambers working on her lower back. Three days a week she visits her physical therapist, Dr. Wayne Howell, for about a half-hour each session.
Farrar's has three one-hour sessions a day with Chambers. When Farrar first comes into the training room, a heat pack will be used to relax her muscles. Depending on the pain, she may also do some stationary bike work to get the blood flowing and get the muscles loose.
Next is an alignment check. If her hips are out of place, it's a more grueling session. If not, Chambers will roll traction on her legs and massage them.
"They say that I have to go through a little bit of pain to get the benefits from [rehabilitation]," Farrar said. "If it gets to a certain extent then I just stop doing the exercises. Then they modify it so that it doesn't hurt."
Another problem Farrar has is her vertebrae. Her vertebrae are out of place, which causes even more discomfort. Chambers will then do muscle synergy to pull her vertebrae back into line.
Finally, Chambers checks her leg length and goes through some final stretching exercises.
Even with all the special treatment her body is receiving, it has not helped in the long haul. She will have to continue the therapy during the off-season and maybe for the rest of her life.
"The intense treatment I've been doing, I haven't seen any results from it," Farrar said. "This is an injury I've had since last spring that's intensified over time. In the off-season, I won't have to do [the therapy] as often, but I still have to do a lot of it just to maintain it."
Before the injury, Farrar played No. 2 singles and doubles. She is currently 6-6 on the year, and 12-4 in doubles action with Owens.
Farrar's boyfriend, Brian Lukas, plays multiple roles. Along with working in the athletic department as a student assistant, he tends to Farrar's needs whenever her back is hurting.
"I pretty much try and make sure she ices her back or treats her back as much as possible," Lukas said. "So if we have any downtime, I'm always trying to make sure she's got one of those two things on her. And just rubbing her back as much as possible."
The future is uncertain for Farrar. She would like to be able to sit out and fully recover, but her team concepts and thirst for playing keep her from sitting out. Farrar said she has thought about quitting.
"At this point I want to play really bad, but I don't want to play and make my back worse," she said. "I want to be able to play the next two years and not be in constant pain. As much as I want to play the rest of the season, I want to help out the team. I hate just standing there and watching them, not being able to play. I'd rather get it under control and pretty much fixed so I'll be able to play."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
