| Badminton is one of the fastest racket sports in the | | | | have to put in more work to get the shuttle speed with |
| world, and it involves throwing your arm very quickly at | | | | light racquets. Faster swing speed means less control. |
| the shuttle. As a result of these violent actions, many | | | | Over time this lightweight racket will demolish your arm |
| players develop repetitive shoulder injuries. The more | | | | compared to a heavier one. The heavy racket will not |
| you play, the greater the chance of picking up chronic | | | | slow down as much after impact, and so less strain is |
| shoulder problems. Injuries are the bane of sports, they | | | | placed on you. |
| can result in frustration and misery, and slowly take | | | | The modern trend in all racket sports is to have light |
| away your enjoyment. So i have decided to find out if | | | | rackets with a head heavy balance. At first glance it |
| a badminton racquet has the potential to cause injury. | | | | seems this is a good combination to create power. |
| I have taken a close look at the research on racquet | | | | More mass at the top will help the racket to crush |
| science, and a few key terms seem to be related to | | | | through the shuttle on impact. However, more mass at |
| how we acquire injuries directly from playing with | | | | the tip makes it more difficult to swing. Remember the |
| certain badminton racquets. | | | | sledgehammer example? It requires more effort on |
| The first term that came up was work. Work is the | | | | your part, you have to work harder to achieve the |
| energy required to produce a certain shuttle speed. It | | | | same shuttle speed as a heavy, head light racquet. |
| measures the efficiency of the badminton racquet. | | | | Also, head heavy rackets feel sluggish and slow. |
| The more efficient your badminton racket is, the less | | | | Here is the low down... Head light and heavy is best for |
| work you need to put in. So a low work racket is good | | | | performance, and best for avoiding injury. |
| for you. A high work racquet is bad because you | | | | As an example i have looked at the balance and |
| have to put in more work to achieve the same shuttle | | | | weight specifications for the most popular badminton |
| speed. Think of work as the rackets power. | | | | manufacturer, Yonex. Not one Yonex model has a |
| Another key term is shock, which is the loading of the | | | | head light balance, many of them are head heavy |
| racquet from a sudden change in kinetic energy. It | | | | such as the muscle power series, whilst the |
| relates to how much the racket slows down on | | | | nanospeed series appears to be slightly head heavy. |
| impact with the shuttlecock. After impact energy is | | | | What makes these rackets even worse for injury is |
| lost, the shuttle gets some of this energy, and the rest | | | | that many of them have stiff frames, which increases |
| is used in bending the frame. If the frame is very stiff, it | | | | vibration. |
| will not absorb this energy, instead, it will be dumped | | | | So, what can you do to make your racket into a |
| into your arm. High shock is bad for injuries. | | | | powerful, injury preventing weapon? |
| The research has proved that the best type of | | | | Add weight to the handle. You can do this by adding |
| racquet to use to attain maximum power is one that is | | | | extra grip tape. If your the kind of player who buys a |
| heavy with a head light balance. More mass placed | | | | racket and then applies large amounts of overgrip on |
| close to the handle allows makes it easier to swing. | | | | the handle, you will have changed the balance point, |
| More mass placed at the tip makes it more difficult to | | | | probably without even realising. There is also a little |
| swing. Think of how hard it is to swing a | | | | gimmick called lead tape, and the idea is to apply this |
| sledgehammer, with all that weight placed at one end. | | | | tape to the racket head. This will create a head heavy |
| Now, if you hold the sledgehammer with the weight | | | | balance. Many players use this tape as they believe it |
| placed in your hands, it is much easier to swing. | | | | will give them more power. We now know that all this |
| There are two schools of thought involving weight. | | | | lead tape will do, is to make it more difficult to swing |
| Some argue that a light racket will allow you to swing | | | | the bat, and cause the most injury to your shoulder |
| faster, and therefore create more velocity on impact, | | | | over time. What i would do is buy some of this tape |
| resulting in faster shuttle speed. The other side of the | | | | and apply it to the handle, then put the overgrip on top |
| argument is that a heavy racket will have more mass | | | | of it. |
| on impact, despite less swing speed, and this extra | | | | Next time you buy a new badminton racket make |
| weight will create the necessary shuttle speed. | | | | sure you know all the details about it, such as weight |
| However, momentum is what counts in a collision. | | | | and balance. Specify what weight and balance point |
| The lightweight racket will slow down much quicker | | | | you want. It might just extend your playing career and |
| after impact, putting more stress on your shoulder. You | | | | help you avoid injury. |