I’m not talking about concussion you can have after you hit your forehead with the paddle while playing a top spin shot, neither the incident of you broke your wrist hitting the table while doing a hard push shot. I’m talking about table tennis players who say they are injured because they are using heavy paddles. How much truth we can find in such a statement?
I speak to table tennis equipments junkies and professional players often. They ask my advice for a best fitting blade for them. Among those players I come across this demand from few players – two out of 25 players. They want lighter table tennis blades. The demand is in the range between 84 gm to 86 gm. I have tried to find the reason behind this from these players. The biggest reason I have found is that they are injured after using heavy blades weighing 2 to 5 gm extra than they used to. One such player had physical therapy to fix his back.
A blade weighing some 5 gm extra should not cause a back injury. A blade is light or heavy, the way you adjust to the blade to use it is very important. The blade can cause pressure to the middle fingers, and that can affect the elbow. Ultimately it can affect the back and spine of your body. The weight of the blade itself has nothing to do with this injury; it is you adjusting to the blade are the problem.
The blade manufactures can’t promise a blade weighing an exact weight. The blade weight vary -5 gm to 5 gm. So with that disclaimer, a blade advertised as weighing 85 gm can weigh 88 gm or 83 gm. The table tennis rubbers used on the blade can add weight to the total blade. After few months of usage the blade weight can increased. It absorbs humidity, and glue.
The answer to the title is you have to adjust to the blade irrespective of the weight of the blade.
How to adjust to a new blade with new weight?
1. Prepare yourself for a change.
2. Use loose grip on your first day.
3. Practice forehand topspin drive strokes to adjust to the angle. Keep the grip loosened.
4. Practice backhand topspin drive strokes to adjust to the angle. Keep the grip loosened.
5. Use firm grip on the blade only on the second or third day after you have stared using the blade.
6. If you feel pain in your upper part of the palm or elbow, take a break and continue the practice session after a day.
7. Consult a Chiropractic if there is any pain spreading to your back or spine.
Look at the history of the table tennis. We have come a long way from a simple sheet of wood to high technology carbon blades. We all had to adjust. Adjusting to the equipments is the trait of a very good player.
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