Crowds Boo Nadal; was he injured or faking?

The men's Australian Open final last weekend brought about some controversy when world number one Rafael Nadal was struck down with a lower back injury. The crowd booed as Nadal took multiple injury time outs, but he continued to battle on for the remainder of the game.

Was there chance he was faking?

Witnessing Nadal in action through an physio's eyes, I would say Nadal’s injury was real. The limitations in his movement, serve and shot selection all point towards a lower back sprain. Regardless of the pain however, he fought on for over two hours, likely increasing the severity of the injury.

Firstly, what is a lower back sprain?

A lower back sprain comprises of injury to the facet joint and spasm of the overlying soft tissue.

Facet joints sit on either side of your spine and allow for bending and twisting movements. When these joints are injured, movement become painful and restricted. Similar to an issue elsewhere on the body, when the facet joint is injured it is accompanied by spasm of the overlying soft tissue. This spasm can be very painful and restricts movement further as well as limiting power and strength.

How long until Nadal is fit?

With regular treatment, symptoms from a lower back sprain can resolve as soon as one to two weeks. However without proper rehabilitation the chance of re-injury is significantly higher. I suspect that Nadal will be having intensive rehabilitation on a daily basis for this injury so we can expect a return to full fitness between four to six weeks. In the non-elite population this can be as long as three months before regaining full strength.

Simon Lumb - Physiotherapist, Back in Motion Hawthorn

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