Man hit in nose with pickleball racket, broken bone

(Dan Tri) - While playing pickleball, Mr. P. (35 years old) was hit in the middle of the nose by his teammate's racket, causing bleeding and swelling.

Master, Doctor Nguyen Trung Nguyen, ENT Center in Ho Chi Minh City, said that the endoscopy and CT scan results showed that Mr. P's nasal bone was broken at the nasal tower, with soft tissue emphysema in the nasal area, deviated nasal septum, and exudative rhinitis.

If left untreated, the patient's nasal bones may become deformed, crooked or collapse, causing obstruction, sinusitis, and difficulty breathing. In severe cases, the patient may experience complications such as cartilage necrosis, nasal deformity, and even cerebrospinal fluid leakage if the damage spreads far.

Mr. P. was indicated for surgery to lift the nose bone and correct the nasal septum. After surgery, the patient could breathe easily, live normally, and was in stable health and was discharged after 1 day of intensive care.

Doctor performed endoscopic surgery on Mr. P. (Photo: Hospital).

Also playing pickleball, a man named B. (42 years old) had just started the match for 15 minutes when he experienced severe chest pain spreading to his neck, difficulty breathing, and profuse sweating.

The patient was brought to the hospital from the sports field with typical angina, the electrocardiogram recorded acute myocardial infarction. The results of the percutaneous coronary angiography (DSA) showed that the blood clot completely blocked the patient's coronary artery.

Taking a medical history, Mr. B. had a history of smoking for many years, causing the atherosclerosis process to occur silently but the patient did not detect it. When exercising strenuously (in this case, playing pickleball), the atherosclerotic plaque cracked, forming a blood clot that blocked the coronary artery, causing acute myocardial infarction.

Immediately, Mr. B. was transferred to the intervention room. The team performed stent placement in the right coronary artery under intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) guidance.

The intervention was successful, Mr. B. escaped the danger zone, and his chest pain was gone. After 1 week of monitoring, the patient was discharged in a stable health condition, and was advised to continue taking medication regularly as prescribed by the doctor, and not to participate in high-intensity combat sports again.

Speaking to Dan Tri reporter, Dr. Nguyen Xuan Anh, an orthopedic specialist, said there have been cases where patients played Pickeball too much because of fun and desire for the ball, and at the same time played with incorrect techniques because there was no coach to support them, leading to serious injuries.

Doctors recommend that, no matter what sport, players need to learn the right techniques and warm up thoroughly. In particular, do not think that pickleball is a gentle sport and try to save the ball or exert yourself, which can lead to unfortunate incidents.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/bi-vot-pickleball-danh-trung-mui-nguoi-dan-ong-vo-xuong-20251015170356539.htm