Pickleball popularity leads to surge in injuries

Picklleball enthusiasts in Lincoln City have been enjoying the sport for sometime.

Wielding wooden or fiberglass paddles, women and men of the Lincoln City club meet to enjoy the friendly competition. They often welcome players from other zip codes, too, traveling through with paddles as part of their luggage, according to a 2017 published report by John Feidler in the former News Guard.

The players use outside courts in the city. In wet weather, players gather at the Lincoln City Community Center.

Pickleball, a combination of tennis, badminton and ping-pong, is the fastest growing sport in the U.S., rising from 4.8 million players in 2021 to 8.9 million in 2023, according to USA Pickleball.

While this sport can be fun and entertaining, the surge in pickleball popularity has led to an increase in related injuries.

The sport’s accessibility and social nature make it appealing to people of all ages. However, along with this rise in popularity comes an uptick in injuries, according to Kaiser Permanente Northwest Assistant Chief of Urgent Care Dr. Ryan Golden, who emphasizes the need for players to be aware of the potential risks involved in pickleball.

“While pickleball is a fantastic way to stay active and socialize, it’s important to recognize the potential for injury, especially as the sport gains momentum,” Golden said. “Common injuries we see related to pickleball include bone fractures and eye injuries, with some studies suggesting a correlation between the size of the pickleball and the risk of eye injuries.”

Americans are expected to incur between $250 million and $500 million in costs associated with pickleball injuries this year alone. With seniors comprising approximately one third of the estimated 22.3 million pickleball players nationwide, the risk of injury becomes even more pronounced, according to research.

As more pickleball enthusiasts take to the courts this summer, Kaiser Permanente Northwest urges players to prioritize safety and take necessary precautions to prevent injuries.

Christopher Wu, MD, a sports and internal medicine physician at Atlantic Health System, shared his recommendations in an article posted at the AMA website.

“If you have medical conditions that involve the heart or the lungs and you haven’t really been active leading up to this venture into pickleball, it would be a good idea to see your primary doctor to make sure that everything is optimized for you to pick up some new physical activity,” Wu said. “It’s really dependent patient to patient on what medical conditions they have and the level of activity prior to getting into the sport.”

Even if you’re medically all clear, Wu said it is important to get “some lessons or some pointers from either a coach or a friend or colleague who has played and knows proper technique.”

Most of the pickleball injuries Wu said he has seen were all either strains or overuse injuries. A more traumatic, significant injury such as a fracture, could occur if the pickle ball player were to step wrong, according to Wu.

“You’d be more inclined to think the older populations—especially those individuals who haven’t been that active prior to picking up pickleball and all of a sudden ramping up their activity level from minimal to trying to play several hours a day, multiple times a week—experienced more injuries,” he said. “Their bodies aren’t accustomed to that workload and that can put them at an increased risk of injury while playing pickleball.”

Before playing pickleball, Wu recommends doing an adequate warmup with dynamic stretching like walking lunges, high knees or arm circles.

““It’s more dynamic movements where you’re moving and not just standing in one spot and stretching one specific muscle, making sure that you’re adequately warmed up,” he said. “It’s always a good idea to have a few drops of sweat on your forehead before you actually get into that first match, so you know that your body is warm and ready to go.”