{"id":44023,"date":"2025-07-10T12:13:55","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T19:13:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/3rdactmagazine.com\/?p=44023"},"modified":"2025-07-10T12:13:55","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T19:13:55","slug":"how-to-not-get-hurt-playing-pickleball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/3rdactmagazine.com\/how-to-not-get-hurt-playing-pickleball\/current-issue\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Not Get Hurt Playing Pickleball"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the world for the 50-80-year-old group and is growing fast in younger populations as well. Unfortunately, it has replaced CrossFit as the number one referral source to my orthopaedic surgery practice. Why the popularity and how to stop the carnage?<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Pickleball is fast, fun, loud, and accessible to people of all ages. It is much easier than\u202f<\/span>tennis<\/span><\/b><\/a>, more fun than badminton, and more competitive than almost any other small-group sport. It is particularly exciting for the 50-80-year-old crowd for a number of reasons: It helps promote good balance, provides a good cardio workout, and improves eye\/hand coordination.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But injuries are common. In 2021, 86 percent of emergency room visits caused by\u202f<\/span>pickleball injuries<\/span><\/b><\/a>\u202foccurred in people over 60 years old. Why?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The usual answers are poor preparation, poor stretching, more ego than skill, lack of warmup, hard court surfaces, and the high competitiveness of the games. There\u2019s no question that warming up before any sport, slowly stretching the tissues that are about to get ballistically stretched, curbing one\u2019s ego, and setting realistic goals are all helpful.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the number one reason I see pickleball injuries (and from most sports) is mental errors. These errors start before the games. The distractions of work, relationships, and the politics of teammates all clutter the mind of the soon-to-be injured athlete.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Next is the impatience to get the game going. Like the golfer who rushes from work to the tee, skipping the practice range, the first swings are erratic. Without being in the groove, the miscoordination of the body\u2019s musculature causes the back to over-rotate, the shoulder to awkwardly thrust forward, and the calf, quad, and hamstring muscles to fire out of sync.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The errors pile up. Failing to take into account how much your ankles bend, how well your knees flex (and how far they flex), how tight your hips are, and how stiff your back and shoulders are, you wind up and swing for the overhead, only to hear the fateful \u201cpop\u201d of something that has just torn.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The distractions occur not just at the beginning of the game. As the points add up the heart rate climbs and fatigue sets in. But victory seems so close! The game is just too much fun and too exciting for everyone to just take a minute, take inventory of their bodies, and adjust their pace. Hormonal rushes of adrenaline, testosterone, pheromones, and endorphins obscure any hope of rational caution and metered play. Treating the injury, I invariably hear, \u201cI knew I shouldn\u2019t have\u2026\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our minds know our bodies. The number one way to prevent a pickleball injury is to think\u2014to be smart, be aware, and be present in your body. And to move in the ways you can, rather than in the fantasies you have.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Kevin R. Stone, MD<\/span><\/i><\/b>, is an orthopaedic surgeon at The Stone Clinic and Chairman of the StoneResearch Foundation. Trained at Harvard University in both internal medicine and orthopaedic surgery and at Stanford University in general surgery, he is a world-renowned expert in biologic joint replacement. He is the best-selling author of <\/span><\/i>Play Forever<\/span>. Dr. Stone has served the U.S, Ski Team, the U.S. Pro Ski Tour, the Marin Ballet, the Smuin<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span>Ballet, the Modern Pentathlon at the U.S. Olympic Festival, and the U.S. Olympic Training<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span>Center.\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rev It Up and Move More<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n