Can't blame the injury on pickleball

As the excitement died down, the large pickleball players in Vietnam gradually realized the big problem of this sport: injuries. But is pickleball at fault?

Pickleball injury rates are increasing - Photo: YT

A survey from Harvard Health Publishing shows that the number of pickleball-related injuries increased nearly 10 times from 2017 to 2024. Of these, 47.9% were soft tissue injuries such as strains, torn tendons and muscles, 10% were pain due to degenerative arthritis, and 9.2% were bone fractures.

This data reflects two important things: the number of injuries is increasing faster than the rate of increase in players, and the majority of injuries are of the “soft tissue” type, not the serious injuries commonly seen in high-impact sports.

"These characteristics suggest the cause is related to the player's playing style and physical condition rather than the nature of the sport ," said Dr. Michael Dakkak of Cleveland Clinic Hospital (USA).

As pickleball injuries have become more prevalent, the sport has also been given a negative connotation – it is prone to injury. Many players have decided to give up pickleball due to injuries, switching to other sports like badminton, or simply walking.

Pickleball's extremely high injury rate is true, but to conclude that "pickleball is more prone to injury than other similar sports" is an unfounded statement.

Sports medicine doctors like Dakkak hypothesize that pickleball players are prone to injury because most of them "were previously sedentary, and now they play too much pickleball."

This group lacks physical foundation, slow reflexes, lacks understanding of warm-up and often wears shoes that are not suitable for changing direction, leading to sprains, tendonitis, shoulder pain and fractures in some cases.

Pickleball has the feel of a light sport that anyone can play right away, leading to a rush of people with little experience playing competitive sports. Specifically women, even middle-aged women.

When they play for several hours at a time or at high intensity, soft tissues are subjected to sudden and repeated loads, leading to “overuse” or acute injuries such as sprains and tendon tears.

People who lack experience playing competitive sports are more likely to get injured in pickleball - Photo: GT

"Another factor is warming up. Warming up is essential for all sports, especially competitive sports like pickleball," says Dr. Dakkak. And the truth is, many women who play pickleball don't even know how to warm up properly.

Equipment and technique also play a role. Regular running shoes are not designed to withstand strong lateral loads; incorrect paddle grip can cause wrist and elbow strain; playing on slippery surfaces or when tired increases the risk of falls and fractures.

These subjective factors are often the main cause of injury.

One big problem with pickleball is that the sport is just starting to take off in most countries (like Vietnam), so there is a lack of experienced professionals and sports science research to give sound advice to beginners.

The Harvard Health Publishing team also noted that pickleball requires many quick changes of direction, sudden braking, and bending, so if a player doesn't have "base fitness" - strength and stability in the legs, knees, hips, and torso - they are more susceptible to soft tissue injuries.

The team recommends lower-extremity strengthening exercises such as squats, lunges, and heel raises to improve leg load-bearing capacity, and emphasizes dynamic warm-ups over static stretching to prevent injury.

These recommendations are not general opinions but are based on clinical experience and observation of injury trends in the playing community.

HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/khong-the-do-loi-chan-thuong-cho-pickleball-20251129171022675.htm