In case you haven't noticed, badminton has made a comeback in a major way. Once just another amenity being offered at sports clubs and country clubs, badminton is now being played in multiple courts (in some places as many as twelve courts) in converted warehouses in the most unlikely places.

Take a drive from the South Super Highway to C-5, and you will see banners proclaiming the opening of the latest badminton centers. The cutest name I have seen so far is "Shuttle's Best". Badminton centers are also cropping up in Cebu and Davao.

No one really knows exactly why badminton has taken off with such fervor here in the Philippines in the last two years. Some people credit Lotlot de Leon for starting the craze because she lost a considerable amount of weight a while back playing badminton. Whatever the reason, people who had previously no interest in working out are now driving up sales for badminton racquets, shoes, and other accessories.

I think this is great because it's not easy to get people off their seats and into an active lifestyle. So whatever gets them to get moving is a good thing.

Unfortunately, there is a not-so-good-side to this badminton frenzy. And that is the rise in badminton-related injuries. One reason for the increase in injuries is simply statistical. Badminton is not a super-dangerous sport but when you have ten times more people playing badminton compared to a few years ago, naturally the number of injuries will also increase because of the sheer number of people playing.

But the major reason for the increase in injuries according to sports medicine and orthopedic surgeon George Canlas of St. Luke's Hospital, is that the people flocking to play badminton are mostly unfit people who haven't exercised in years.

No one quite remembers who first said this but it is now considered a truism in exercise science: "You don't play a sport to get fit; you get fit to play a sport".

What this means is that all sports require some level of fitness to be able to play relatively well without injuring yourself. If you have gathered moss for the last ten years and you suddenly play badminton five to six times a week, don't be surprised if you get hurt.

This exercise axiom also means that if your only form of physical activity is playing the sport, the muscles that are primarily used when you play become much stronger than the muscles that are not used as much and this creates an imbalance that can lead to an injury later on when the "weakest link" gives way. This is why serious athletes still continue to lift weights and do stretching exercises as a "foundation" upon which to be able to play their sport at the top of their game both in terms of performance and lowering the risk of injury.

Canlas says that the four most common injuries he sees among badminton players are "tennis" elbow, knee problems, wrist and Achilles tendonitis. He says has already had to do surgery on four badminton aficionados with a ruptured Achilles tendon. In case you don't know where the Achilles tendon is located, it's that thick "cord" at the lower part of your calf near your heel.

Canlas claims these injuries are due to a lack of strength and flexibility, poor warming-up techniques, the wrong shoes or racquet, and playing too many games on consecutive days.

A "tennis elbow" doesn't just happen to tennis players. It can happen to anyone who grips a racquet too tightly and has weak forearm muscles. It can also occur in rock climbers, golfers, and baseball players. I once had a client who got it from blow-drying her hair everyday. Canlas says racquets that are too light and are too tightly strung are contributing factors for an inflamed elbow.

Badminton is what is called a "cutting" sport or a sport that requires stop-and-go rapid changes in direction. This can be challenging for strong athletic knees, but it can be deadly for middle-aged out-of-shape knees.

It doesn't help either if you don't wear the correct shoes. In badminton, you need to be able to lunge and pivot quickly in all directions so you need a shoe that allows you to "slide" on the court. If you want to visit the emergency room for an ankle or knee injury, wear running or basketball shoes while playing badminton.

However, Canlas says that competition level badminton shoes may not be the answer because they don't have enough arch support and they allow too much of a sliding motion for beginner players.

This is confirmed by a Danish study on badminton injuries by Uffe Jorgenson of the University of Copenhagen. Jorgenson writes, "Most shoes have a flat heel, low shock absorption and give no support to the foot." He recommends a shoe that has less friction between the sole and the playing surface but that has "a higher heel, has shock absorption, and a stiffer, anatomically fitting heel counter". Unless you can find a brand of badminton shoes that has these features, a tennis shoe is probably your best bet.

Sports injuries are divided into acute or traumatic injuries and chronic or overuse injuries. Acute injuries happen suddenly and accidentally and there is an easily identified reason. For example, you sprain your ankle because you trip over your shoelaces or your doubles partner smacks you in the face with his racquet.

Chronic injuries are those that take a while to develop and sort of creep up on you. For example, your knees start to ache because of all the lunging movements that are a necessary evil in badminton. Instead of correcting your lunging technique, strengthening the muscles around your knee, and checking with an orthopedic doctor if you have abnormal knee alignment, you ignore the aching feeling. After a while, your knees start hurting when you climb the stairs or you sit too long in one position. Eventually, you can't play badminton anymore because your knees are just too painful.

Badminton is a popular sport in England and its former colonies as well as the Scandinavian region so most of the research on badminton injuries comes from these countries. According to the studies, the most dangerous traumatic injury that can occur in badminton is an injury to the eye. While eye injuries are not as common as ankle or knee problems, they are nevertheless worth mentioning because of the potential damage to the eyesight.

A Malaysian study called badminton the sport that presented the "greatest ocular hazard" in that country. A Canadian study published in the Physician and Sports Medicine Journal found that badminton accounted for 30% to 58% of all racquet sport eye injuries in Canada during a ten-year period.

Seventy percent of all badminton-related eye injuries happen during a doubles game. The person most at risk is the one near the net who either gets hit straight in the eyes by the opponent's shuttlecock or gets hit by the racquet or shuttlecock of his or her partner. A study in the British Journal of Opthalmology suggested that the "forward player should hold the racquet in front of the face while awaiting the return stroke, particularly if a high lob has been delivered when a smash return is probable". Another study says to avoid looking behind at your partner.

The studies also noted that children playing badminton in school tend to have more accidents involving getting hit in the face with a racquet or shuttlecock. According to the Canadian Journal of Opthalmology, of all the sports-related eye injuries among children, badminton was the highest single cause. The study called for "mandatory eye protection in badminton" and that this should apply to schools as well as sports clubs.

All the research scientists recommended the use of certified polycarbonate plastic glasses while playing to protect against eye injuries. It used to be believed that only beginner players were prone to injury because they don't keep their eye on the shuttlecock at all times but research shows that very experienced players can get injured as well.

Several studies pointed out that while there are more eye injuries in squash, the injuries from badminton tend to be more severe. This is because, according to the Clinical Opthalmology textbook, "the 25- to 28-mm diameter shuttlecock head fits nicely into the orbit" of the eye.

The shuttlecock may not look like a deadly weapon compared to a squash or tennis ball but it has been clocked at top speeds of 130 to 134 miles per hour. The fact that a shuttlecock looks like it couldn't kill a fly is a big reason why there is a lack of awareness among badminton players about the potential for eye injury.

Next week: More specific strategies to prevent badminton injuries.