Staying Injury Free on the Pickleball Court

Although it has been around for nearly 60 years, pickleball has been gaining popularity. According to The Sports and Fitness Industry Association, participation has grown by nearly 40% over the past two years making it the fastest growing sport in America. Pickleball is typically played outdoors, hence the growth in popularity throughout the COVID pandemic. The ability to be played by people of all ages and skill levels keeps a stream of new participants coming to the courts. Whether you’re looking to give it a try for the first time or just interested in playing for years to come, here are some tips that may help you stay injury free on the court.                                

A majority of pickleball injuries can be avoided with the help of healthy habits and a well rounded routine. These include but aren’t limited to a dynamic warm up, appropriate progression/recovery and strength training. This post serves as a resource to help you improve these aspects in an effort to reduce injury risk and keep you on the courts.

Dynamic Warm Up

A good dynamic warm up will prepare your muscles, joints and nervous system for sport or exercise. Five to ten minutes is all you need in order to appropriately prepare your body for what’s to come. An example of a simple but effective dynamic pickleball warmup looks like this.

1. Forward and backward jog the length of the court x 2
2. Lateral steps the width of the court x 2
3. Walking knee hugs the length of the court
4. Walking quad stretch the length of the court
5. Toe walk down the length of the court and heel walk back
6. Shoulder Circles forward and backward x30

Appropriate Progression/Recovery

When starting any new sport or fitness activity it is important to progress over time. Even if you’re an experienced player, you can avoid overuse injuries by gradually progressing your exposure to time spent playing. This can be difficult as pickleball is often played daily and considered by many players to be addictive. As always, it is important to take your individual fitness level into account. Here are a few things to consider.

• New players should allow a day of rest in between matches for the first week
• Consider a day of rest (from pickleball) if you are sore the day after a match
• When looking to play more, increase time(min/day) or frequency(days/wk) - not both
• If you don’t play for 2 weeks, you should allow 2 weeks for return to prior playing levels
• Plan for events like tournaments where you may undergo large increases in playing time
• Appropriate hydration, nutrition and sleep play a large role in your ability to recover

Strength Training

Strength training has been shown to reduce injury risk across a multitude of sporting activities in large part due to its positive impact on muscle, bone and tendinous structures throughout the body. Players who aren’t already participating should consider strength training as a simple and effective addition to their game and overall health. Generally, a strength training program that includes fully body movements a minimum of two days per week will suffice. I would encourage those interested to use the American College of Sports Medicine guidelines as a resource.