14 Common Squash injuries (Prevention & Treatment)

Squash injuries covered one by one: ankle and wrist sprains, shoulder trouble, eye injuries from the ball, muscle strains and tendonitis.

The confined court also produces bruises, cuts, face injuries and finger damage, with fractures and concussions as the rarer cases, and every entry names the cause and the signs to watch for.

Injury Rates and Numbers

The figures below come from injury surveillance data and peer reviewed studies. Each row names the population it was measured in, because rates from elite athletes and from recreational players are not comparable.

Finding	Measured in	Source
Squash accounted for 59 percent of 631 racquet sport injuries seen at a sports injury clinic over eight years, ahead of tennis at 21 percent and badminton at 20 percent.	Racquet sport players presenting to a UK sports injury clinic, 8-year retrospective study, published 1987	British Journal of Sports Medicine, Chard MD and Lachmann SM, Racquet sports: patterns of injury presenting to a sports injury clinic
In that clinic series most racquet sport injuries occurred in players over 25 years of age, who accounted for 59 percent of cases.	Racquet sport players (squash, tennis, badminton) at a UK sports injury clinic, 8-year retrospective study, published 1987	British Journal of Sports Medicine, Chard MD and Lachmann SM, Racquet sports: patterns of injury presenting to a sports injury clinic
In a survey of Australian pennant squash players, 26 percent said they had suffered at least one eye injury, yet only 8 percent used appropriate protective eyewear.	163 valid respondents among 165 metropolitan pennant squash players, Australia, Published 1990	Medical Journal of Australia, Genovese MT et al., Eye injuries among pennant squash players and their attitudes towards protective eyewear
A survey of 303 adult players at Melbourne squash venues found that only 8.9 percent wore approved protective eyewear.	303 squash players aged 18 and older at three Melbourne venues, Australia, Surveyed June 2000, published 2002	Injury Prevention, Eime RM et al., Are squash players protecting their eyes?
Players at venues running a protective eyewear promotion program had 2.4 times the odds of wearing appropriate eyewear compared with control venues.	Squash players at four intervention and four control venues, Australia, Published 2005	British Journal of Sports Medicine, Eime R et al., The effectiveness of a squash eyewear promotion strategy

Overview

Injury	Body area	Typical time out
Sprains (ankle, wrist)	Ankle and wrist	1 to 8 weeks, 3 months if severe
Shoulder Injuries	Shoulder	6 to 12 weeks, months after surgery
Eye Injuries	Eye	Days to months, specialist decides
Wrist Injuries	Hand and wrist	2 to 12 weeks, 3 months if fracture
Strains (muscle)	Thigh and calf	2 to 8 weeks, 3 months if grade 3
Bruises and Contusions	Whole body	Days to 3 weeks
Cuts and Abrasions	Skin	A few days to 2 weeks
Face Injuries	Face	1 to 6 weeks, longer after surgery
Tendonitis	Elbow, shoulder and heel	6 to 12 weeks, months if long standing
Finger Injury	Hand and fingers	2 to 12 weeks depending on injury
Fractures (rare)	Bone, various sites	6 weeks to unite, 3 months to play
Falls and Impacts / Concussions (rare)	Head	2 weeks minimum, often 4 or more
Racquet Impact Injury to the Head and Scalp	Head	Days to 2 weeks, longer if concussed

Sprains (ankle, wrist)

A sprain is an overstretch or tear of the ligaments that hold a joint together. At the ankle it is usually the anterior talofibular ligament on the outside, injured when the foot rolls inward during a lunge into the front corner or a hard push off the side wall. At the wrist the scapholunate and ulnar side ligaments take the load when you land on an outstretched hand after a slip or hit the ball late with the wrist bent back.

Symptoms

• Sharp pain at the moment of the twist, often with a pop you can feel
• Swelling over the outside of the ankle or the back of the wrist within a few hours
• Bruising that appears a day or two later, sometimes below the injured spot
• The joint feels unstable or gives way when you change direction
• Pain when you press directly on the ligament or move the joint to the end of its range

How serious it is: Ligament injuries are graded 1 to 3: grade 1 is a stretch with intact fibers, grade 2 a partial tear with some looseness, grade 3 a complete rupture with a clearly unstable joint. The dividing line in practice is whether the joint still holds when tested and whether you can put weight on it.

Typical time out: One to three weeks for a grade 1 ankle sprain, four to eight weeks for a grade 2, and three months or more for a grade 3 or if surgery is needed. Wrist sprains often take longer than they look because the wrist is loaded on every stroke, and a missed scaphoid fracture or torn scapholunate ligament changes the timeline completely.

See a doctor if: See a doctor if you cannot take four steps on the injured ankle, if the wrist is painful in the hollow at the base of the thumb, or if the joint looks deformed or feels numb.

What helps

• Load the joint early within a pain limit instead of resting it fully, walking normally as soon as it is tolerable
• Short cooling in the first hours for pain relief, not as the treatment itself
• Balance and proprioception work on one leg, progressing to hopping and lunges in the court corners
• Calf and peroneal strengthening for the ankle, grip and forearm strengthening for the wrist
• Imaging if there is bony tenderness or you cannot bear weight, and physiotherapy if the joint still gives way after several weeks

Shoulder Injuries

Squash loads the rotator cuff tendons, mainly supraspinatus, and the long head of the biceps tendon, plus the subacromial bursa that sits between the tendon and the bony roof. The repeated overhead serve, the high volley and the fast deceleration after a hard drive compress and stretch these structures thousands of times per session. Reaching behind the body for a boast or a backhand overhead adds strain to the front of the joint capsule and the labrum.

Symptoms

• Pain on the outside of the upper arm, often worse when reaching overhead or behind you
• A painful arc between roughly shoulder height and full elevation
• Difficulty sleeping on that side
• Loss of power on the serve or overhead volley before pain becomes constant
• Stiffness in the morning that eases as you move

How serious it is: Mild cases are tendinopathy or bursal irritation with pain only during and after play. More serious are partial and full thickness rotator cuff tears, where weakness rather than pain dominates and lifting the arm against resistance fails.

Typical time out: Six to twelve weeks of graded loading for tendinopathy, longer if it has been present for months. A repaired full thickness cuff tear usually means four to six months before racquet sport, sometimes more, because the tendon has to heal to bone before it can take load.

See a doctor if: Get it checked if you cannot lift the arm to the side at all, if the arm feels dead or numb, or if pain wakes you every night for more than two weeks.

What helps

• Progressive strengthening of the rotator cuff and the muscles that control the shoulder blade, loaded heavily enough to be a real stimulus
• Reduce serve and overhead volume for a few weeks rather than stopping all play
• Check technique, especially hitting with the arm alone instead of turning the trunk and using the legs
• Physiotherapy if pain persists beyond six weeks or strength is clearly reduced
• Corticosteroid injection only as an exception: it can settle pain briefly but tends to leave tendon problems worse in the long run

Eye Injuries

The squash ball is small and hard enough to fit inside the bony eye socket, so an impact transmits its full force to the eyeball rather than being stopped by the rim. That can bruise the iris and cause bleeding into the front chamber, tear the retina or detach it, or fracture the thin floor of the orbit. The racquet head, swung at close range in a shared court, causes cuts to the lid and blunt trauma in the same way.

Symptoms

• Immediate pain and watering after impact, often with light sensitivity
• Blurred vision, a dark shadow in part of the field of view, or flashes and floaters
• Visible blood in the colored part of the eye
• Double vision or difficulty looking upward, which suggests the orbital floor
• Swelling and bruising around the socket that closes the lid

How serious it is: A simple bruise of the lid settles by itself. Anything involving the eyeball itself, blood in the front chamber, a change in vision or a suspected orbital fracture is serious and needs an ophthalmologist the same day, because retinal damage can progress silently.

Typical time out: A few days for a lid bruise with normal vision, several weeks after an eye injury treated by an ophthalmologist, and months or a permanent stop after retinal detachment or surgery. The decision to return is made by the eye specialist, not by how the eye feels.

See a doctor if: Any change in vision, blood inside the eye, double vision or a pupil that looks irregular means same day emergency care, not waiting.

What helps

• Stop play and get the eye examined by an ophthalmologist rather than judging it yourself
• Do not rub or press on the eye, and cover it loosely with a rigid shield rather than a pad
• Wear polycarbonate protective eyewear made to a squash standard afterward, not ordinary glasses or open lensless frames
• Ask the specialist about return to play, since a treated retinal tear may rule out racquet sports for a period
• Encourage protective eyewear at your club, since availability and visible use change what players actually wear

Wrist Injuries

The wrist controls racquet face angle, so every drop shot, flick and wristy cross court loads the extensor and flexor tendons and the small carpal ligaments. Two problems dominate: irritation of the extensor carpi ulnaris tendon on the little finger side, aggravated by the twisting of a backhand, and injury to the triangular fibrocartilage complex that cushions that same side. Falls onto an outstretched hand can also fracture the scaphoid, which is easy to mistake for a sprain.

Symptoms

• Pain on the little finger side of the wrist when rotating the forearm
• A click or snap felt during backhand strokes
• Weak grip, dropping cups or struggling to open jars
• Swelling and tenderness over the back of the wrist
• Pins and needles in the thumb and first fingers if the median nerve is irritated

How serious it is: A mild tendon irritation settles with load management within weeks. A ligament or cartilage tear leaves the wrist clicking and unstable and takes months, and an untreated scaphoid fracture can fail to unite and permanently damage the joint.

Typical time out: Two to six weeks for tendon irritation, six to twelve weeks for a cartilage or ligament injury managed conservatively, and three months or more after a scaphoid fracture or surgery. The wide range reflects how differently a tendon and a small bone with poor blood supply heal.

See a doctor if: Tenderness in the hollow at the base of the thumb after a fall needs an X ray, since a scaphoid fracture often shows normally on the first image and still needs treatment.

What helps

• Cut back on wristy shots and heavy hitting for a few weeks while keeping the rest of your training
• Grip and forearm strengthening, including forearm rotation with a light weight held at one end
• Check grip size and racquet weight, since a grip that is too small encourages excessive wrist snap
• A short period in a support or brace for tendon irritation, then wean off rather than living in it
• See a hand specialist if clicking, locking or pain on rotation persists past six weeks

Strains (muscle)

A strain is a tear at the junction between muscle and tendon, and in squash it usually hits the calf, the hamstring or the groin adductors. The classic mechanism is the deep lunge into a front corner, where the calf of the trailing leg and the adductors of the lunging leg are stretched under load at the same time. Hamstrings tear more often during the sprint back to the T after a drop shot.

Symptoms

• A sudden stab or the sensation of being kicked in the back of the leg
• Immediate limp and inability to push off or sprint
• Localized tenderness in one spot rather than a general ache
• Bruising tracking down the leg over the following days
• Pain on stretching the muscle and on contracting it against resistance

How serious it is: Strains are graded 1 to 3: grade 1 involves a few fibers with near normal strength, grade 2 a partial tear with clear weakness and bruising, grade 3 a complete rupture with a palpable gap and loss of function.

Typical time out: Two to three weeks for a grade 1, four to eight weeks for a grade 2, and three months or more for a grade 3 or a tendon avulsion that needs surgery. Injuries close to the tendon or at the tendon itself take considerably longer than those in the muscle belly.

See a doctor if: See a doctor if you felt a gap in the muscle, cannot bear weight, or if the calf becomes hot, swollen and painful without a clear injury, which can mean a clot.

What helps

• Start gentle pain free movement within the first days rather than immobilizing the leg
• Progressive strength work through range, with eccentric loading such as Nordic curls for hamstrings and heel drops for calf
• Rebuild sprinting and change of direction on court in steps before playing points again
• Address the reason: high match volume without conditioning, weak hip adductors, poor lunge control
• Physiotherapy if you have strained the same muscle before, since reinjury is most likely in the first weeks back

Bruises and Contusions

A contusion is bleeding within muscle or under the skin after a direct blow, with no break in the surface. In squash the ball travels fast in a small enclosed court and hits the back, thigh or upper arm of the player in front, and collisions with the opponent or the side wall do the same. The blood collects in the tissue and the muscle stiffens as it clots.

Symptoms

• Immediate localized pain at the point of impact
• A firm swelling that develops within minutes to hours
• Skin discoloration that turns from red to purple to yellow over days
• Stiffness and loss of range in the nearby joint, especially with a thigh contusion
• Pain when the bruised muscle is stretched or contracted

How serious it is: Most contusions are minor and resolve on their own. A deep thigh contusion that leaves the knee bending less than ninety degrees is more serious, and a hard, tense, extremely painful compartment is an emergency.

Typical time out: A few days for a superficial bruise, one to three weeks for a deep thigh contusion, longer if calcification develops in the muscle. Contusions over bone such as the hip or shin can stay painful for several weeks even when nothing structural is damaged.

See a doctor if: Seek urgent care if the swelling becomes tense and hard with increasing pain, numbness or a cold limb, which suggests pressure building inside the muscle compartment.

What helps

• Keep the joint moving gently in the first days so the muscle does not stiffen in a shortened position
• Short cooling in the first hours for pain, then gentle active range of motion
• Gradually rebuild strength and stretch tolerance rather than forcing the stretch early
• Wear a padded protector or additional layer if the same spot keeps being struck
• Get imaging if a hard lump remains in the muscle after several weeks, since bone can form in the bruise

Cuts and Abrasions

Squash courts have hard walls and a floor that grips well, so a slide or fall scrapes the skin off the knee, elbow or hip. Racquet frames swung in a shared space cut the scalp, eyebrow and forearm, and the edge of the strings can open a clean straight wound. These are skin injuries, but a cut over a joint or a knuckle can go deeper than it appears.

Symptoms

• Visible break in the skin with bleeding or oozing
• Burning or stinging pain that is worse than the size of the wound suggests
• Dirt or floor grit in the wound
• Redness, spreading warmth or pus over the following days if infection develops
• Difficulty moving a finger or joint under a deeper cut

How serious it is: A superficial abrasion needs cleaning only. A cut that gapes open, keeps bleeding after several minutes of pressure, or sits over a tendon, joint or the face usually needs closure by a professional to avoid a bad scar or a deeper problem.

Typical time out: A few days for an abrasion, one to two weeks for a sutured cut so the wound is not stressed while it closes. Wounds over a moving joint take longer because every bend pulls the edges apart.

See a doctor if: Get medical help if bleeding does not stop after ten minutes of firm pressure, if the wound gapes, or if it becomes red, hot and increasingly painful after two days.

What helps

• Stop the bleeding with firm direct pressure on a clean dressing
• Rinse the wound thoroughly with clean running water to remove grit before covering it
• Cover with a clean dressing and change it when it becomes wet or dirty
• Check that your tetanus vaccination is current, especially with a dirty or deep wound
• See a doctor within hours for facial cuts, gaping wounds or anything over a knuckle or tendon

Face Injuries

Two players share a small court and swing a stiff racquet at head height, so follow through on a drive or a turn to play the ball off the back wall can strike the opponent in the face. The result ranges from a cut eyebrow or lip to a fracture of the nasal bones, the cheekbone or the thin floor of the eye socket, and to chipped or knocked out teeth when the frame hits the mouth.

Symptoms

• Immediate pain, swelling and often a nosebleed
• A visible step or change in the shape of the nose or cheek
• Numbness of the cheek, upper lip or gum, which points to a bone injury near the nerve
• Double vision or trouble looking upward after a blow around the eye
• A tooth that is loose, chipped, knocked out, or teeth that no longer meet properly

How serious it is: Soft tissue swelling and a simple nosebleed usually settle by themselves. Facial fractures, numbness, a changed bite or double vision need assessment within a day, since some of these have a narrow window for correction.

Typical time out: One to two weeks for soft tissue injury and a simple nosebleed, three to six weeks after a nasal fracture, and six weeks or more after a cheekbone or orbital fracture that is fixed surgically. Return also depends on whether protective eyewear can be worn comfortably again.

See a doctor if: Go to an emergency department for numbness of the face, double vision, a bite that does not close correctly or a knocked out permanent tooth, which should be handled within the hour.

What helps

• Control bleeding with pressure and, for a nosebleed, by pinching the soft part of the nose while sitting forward
• Short cooling of the swelling in the first hours, without pressing on a suspected fracture
• Keep a knocked out permanent tooth moist in milk or saliva and see a dentist immediately
• Wear certified protective eyewear, which also shields the upper face and the bony rim of the socket
• Learn to stop your swing and play a let when your opponent is in the way instead of hitting through

Tendonitis

What used to be called tendonitis is mostly tendinopathy, a change in the collagen structure of the tendon from repeated load without enough recovery, with less inflammation than the name suggests. In squash it shows up at the common extensor origin on the outside of the elbow, in the rotator cuff, in the Achilles tendon from constant push off, and in the patellar tendon under the kneecap from lunging. The tendon is not torn, it has become painful and less able to store and release energy.

Symptoms

• Pain that is worst at the start of activity, eases as you warm up, and returns hours later
• Stiffness in the morning at the affected tendon
• Tenderness when you press on one specific point of the tendon
• Loss of power in the stroke or the push off before pain limits you
• Pain when gripping the racquet tightly, in the case of the elbow

How serious it is: Early reactive tendinopathy after a sudden increase in training settles quickly with load management. Long standing degenerative tendinopathy with weeks of morning stiffness takes months, and in the Achilles a neglected case carries a risk of rupture.

Typical time out: You rarely need to stop entirely. Expect six to twelve weeks of adjusted load for a recent case and three to six months for one that has been present for a long time, since tendon tissue adapts slowly and improvement is measured in weeks, not days.

See a doctor if: See a doctor if you felt a sudden snap in the back of the ankle, cannot push off onto your toes, or if the tendon pain stays constant at rest and at night.

What helps

• Heavy slow resistance and eccentric loading of the affected tendon, done regularly and allowed to be mildly uncomfortable
• Manage the load rather than stopping: fewer matches or shorter sessions, keeping the rest of your training
• Correct the trigger, such as a grip that is too small, a racquet strung too tightly or a jump in weekly court hours
• Physiotherapy for a structured loading plan if self managed loading has not helped in six to eight weeks
• Corticosteroid injection only as an exception, since it relieves pain for a short time but is associated with worse outcomes in tendinopathy later

Finger Injury

Fingers get caught in the racquet strings, struck by the ball, or jammed against the wall or floor during a fall. The typical injuries are a sprain or dislocation of the proximal interphalangeal joint, an avulsion of the extensor tendon at the fingertip producing a mallet finger, and a tear of the ulnar collateral ligament at the base of the thumb when the racquet is wrenched out of the grip.

Symptoms

• Immediate pain and rapid swelling of one joint
• Deformity or a finger that points in the wrong direction
• Inability to straighten the tip of the finger, which stays drooped
• Pain when gripping the racquet or pinching the thumb and index finger together
• Stiffness that persists for weeks after the swelling has gone

How serious it is: A simple joint sprain is painful and swollen but stable. Dislocations, mallet finger and thumb ligament tears need specific treatment, and a fracture that runs into the joint surface can leave permanent stiffness if it is not aligned.

Typical time out: Two to four weeks for a simple sprain with taping, six to eight weeks for a mallet finger which needs continuous splinting, and six to twelve weeks after a fracture or thumb ligament surgery. Fingers stay swollen and stiff long after they are safe to use.

See a doctor if: Get an X ray and medical review for any visible deformity, a fingertip that will not straighten, or pain at the base of the thumb when pinching.

What helps

• Buddy tape a sprained finger to its neighbor and keep moving it rather than immobilizing it fully
• Continuous splinting in extension for a mallet finger, without letting the tip drop even once during changes
• Start range of motion exercises early to prevent the joint capsule from stiffening
• Have any dislocation reduced and X rayed rather than pulling it back yourself on court
• Refer to a hand therapist if the joint is still stiff or swollen after six weeks

Fractures (rare)

A fracture is a break in the bone, and in squash it comes either from a direct blow, from the ball or racquet to the face or hand, or from a fall onto an outstretched arm on a hard floor. The wrist and the scaphoid, the fifth metacarpal, the nasal and orbital bones and the ankle malleoli are the usual sites. Repetitive load can also cause stress fractures, particularly in the shin and the foot bones, when court hours rise sharply.

Symptoms

• Pain that is sharp, localized to one bony point and does not settle within minutes
• Immediate swelling and later bruising over the bone
• Inability to take weight or to use the limb normally
• Visible deformity, angulation or shortening
• In a stress fracture, pain that starts late in a session and gradually appears earlier over weeks

How serious it is: Undisplaced fractures usually heal in a cast or splint. Displaced fractures, those running into a joint surface and open fractures need reduction or surgery, and a scaphoid or fifth metatarsal fracture is prone to poor healing because of its blood supply.

Typical time out: Six to eight weeks for a simple undisplaced fracture to unite, then several more weeks to rebuild strength and movement, so three months to full squash is realistic. After surgery or a scaphoid fracture, four to six months is common.

See a doctor if: Any deformity, an inability to bear weight or use the limb, numbness beyond the injury or a bone visible through the skin means emergency care immediately.

What helps

• Get an X ray rather than assuming a sprain when there is tenderness directly over a bone
• Immobilize as directed and keep the joints above and below the cast moving
• Keep training the rest of your body, since general fitness falls quickly during a three month absence
• Rebuild strength, balance and change of direction on court in graded steps before playing matches
• For a stress fracture, review the training increase and the underlying cause, including nutrition and available energy

Falls and Impacts / Concussions (rare)

A concussion is a functional disturbance of the brain caused by force transmitted to the head, without any structural damage visible on standard imaging. In squash it happens when a player is struck by an opponent’s racquet during a follow through, when heads collide in the same space, or when a slip on a sweaty floor puts the back of the head into the wall or floor. Loss of consciousness is not required and is absent in most cases.

Symptoms

• Headache and a sense of pressure in the head
• Dizziness, feeling slowed down or as if in a fog
• Nausea, sensitivity to light or noise
• Confusion about the score or the point that was just played
• Symptoms that appear or worsen over the hours after the incident, including sleep problems and irritability

How serious it is: Most concussions resolve within weeks with a graded return. A worsening headache, repeated vomiting, seizure or increasing drowsiness suggests a more serious brain injury and is an emergency. Repeated concussions in a short time carry the greatest risk.

Typical time out: At least one to two weeks before non contact exercise begins in adults, and often four weeks or more in total before match play, guided by symptoms rather than the calendar. A second concussion before full recovery lengthens this considerably.

See a doctor if: Go to an emergency department for loss of consciousness, a seizure, repeated vomiting, increasing drowsiness, weakness or numbness in a limb, or a headache that steadily worsens.

What helps

• Stop play immediately and do not return the same day, even if the symptoms fade within minutes
• Take 24 to 48 hours of relative rest, then start light activity that does not worsen symptoms rather than sitting in a dark room for days
• Follow a graded return: light aerobic work, then sport specific movement, then non contact drills, then full play, with a step back if symptoms return
• Get medical clearance before returning to matches, especially after a second concussion
• See a doctor if symptoms persist beyond two weeks, since balance and neck treatment often help at that point

Racquet Impact Injury to the Head and Scalp

Two players move through the same small space, and a full follow through or a turn to retrieve a ball off the back wall brings the racquet frame to head height at speed. The stiff graphite frame and the edge of the strings cut the scalp and eyebrow, where the skin lies directly on bone and splits easily, and the same blow can bruise the skull or transmit force to the brain. Scalp wounds bleed heavily because the skin there has a rich blood supply, which makes them look worse than they usually are.

Symptoms

• A cut on the scalp or eyebrow with heavy bleeding out of proportion to its size
• A tender lump over the skull that forms within minutes
• Headache after the impact
• Dizziness, nausea or feeling dazed, which points to a concussion as well
• Blurred vision or pain around the eye if the blow was near the socket

How serious it is: A simple scalp laceration with no other symptoms is a wound care problem. Any confusion, memory gap, drowsiness or persistent headache means the impact also has to be treated as a head injury, which is the more important question.

Typical time out: A few days to two weeks for the wound itself, depending on whether it needed closing. If there are concussion symptoms, the head injury sets the timeline instead, meaning at least one to two weeks before non contact exercise and often four weeks or more before matches.

See a doctor if: Go to an emergency department for any loss of consciousness, vomiting, increasing drowsiness, a worsening headache or clear fluid coming from the nose or ear.

What helps

• Stop play, apply firm pressure to the wound and assess for concussion symptoms before anything else
• Have a gaping or heavily bleeding scalp wound closed the same day
• Do not return to court that day even if the cut is dressed and the bleeding has stopped
• Wear certified protective eyewear, which also protects the bony rim of the socket and the eyebrow
• Call a let instead of playing through when your opponent is inside your swing, and hold the follow through short in the front corners

First Aid for Soft Tissue Injuries: PEACE and LOVE

Sports medicine has moved on from RICE. The current guidance, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in 2019, splits care into the first days after the injury and everything that follows.

PEACE, the first two to three days

• Protect: unload the area and limit movement that hurts, but only briefly.
• Elevate: keep the limb above heart level when you can.
• Avoid anti-inflammatories: they may blunt the healing you need.
• Compress: a bandage or taping limits swelling.
• Educate: your body heals this on its own; passive treatments rarely speed it up.

LOVE, from day three onward

• Load: return to movement as pain allows, early loading builds tissue.
• Optimism: expectations shape recovery more than most people assume.
• Vascularization: easy cardio that does not hurt brings blood to the area.
• Exercise: restore strength, mobility and balance before returning to play.

Ice still helps with pain in the first hours. What changed is the evidence that long icing and routine anti-inflammatory drugs slow tissue repair.

How to Lower Your Risk in Squash

• Wear certified polycarbonate protective eyewear made for squash on every session, including practice. Surveys of Australian club players found around one in four had already suffered an eye injury while fewer than one in ten wore approved eyewear, and club level promotion measurably increased how many players wore it.
• Call a let rather than playing a ball when your opponent is inside your swing, and keep the follow through short in the front corners where the two of you are closest.
• Build lunge strength and control specifically, since the deep front court lunge loads the calf, adductors and knee at full stretch and is where most muscle strains happen.
• Increase court hours gradually. Tendon problems at the elbow, shoulder and Achilles almost always follow a jump in weekly playing volume rather than a single session.
• Use indoor court shoes with a gum sole and replace them when the grip wears down, and wipe up sweat on the floor between rallies, since slips cause the falls that break wrists and hit heads on the wall.
• Check your racquet setup: a grip that is too small encourages excessive wrist snap, and a very stiff frame strung tightly transmits more shock into the elbow and wrist.

When to Stop and Get Medical Help

Most of the injuries on this page are treated at home. These signs are not.

• Any change in vision after a ball or racquet hits the eye area, including blurring, a shadow in the field of view, flashes, double vision or blood inside the eye.
• Loss of consciousness, a memory gap, repeated vomiting, increasing drowsiness or a headache that keeps getting worse after a blow to the head.
• Visible deformity of a limb or joint, a bone that will not move, or complete inability to take weight after a twist or fall.
• Numbness, pins and needles or a cold, pale limb below the injury, which suggests nerve or blood vessel involvement.
• A muscle compartment that becomes hard and tense with pain far beyond what the impact would explain.
• A sudden snap in the back of the ankle with inability to push off onto the toes, which suggests an Achilles rupture.

Sources

• British Journal of Sports Medicine, Chard MD and Lachmann SM, Racquet sports: patterns of injury presenting to a sports injury clinic
• Medical Journal of Australia, Genovese MT et al., Eye injuries among pennant squash players and their attitudes towards protective eyewear
• Injury Prevention, Eime RM et al., Are squash players protecting their eyes?
• British Journal of Sports Medicine, Eime R et al., The effectiveness of a squash eyewear promotion strategy

This article is general information, not medical advice. If you are hurt, a doctor or physiotherapist who can examine you is worth more than any web page. Last reviewed: August 2026.

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