Pickleball has a higher injury rate than many people think - Photo: TO
With a fast pace, compact court, simple equipment, and easy-to-play techniques for beginners, pickleball is considered by many as a "light entertainment" sport, suitable for the physical condition of people who do not exercise regularly.
Reality is showing a completely different picture: pickleball injury rates are rising rapidly and severely.
Many people go to the pickleball court just to "play around" but then suffer from all kinds of injuries.
Below are the reasons analyzed by scientists :
Women are not familiar with sports.
According to statistics from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), more than 50% of pickleball-related injuries occur in women between the ages of 30 and 55.
This is a group that has had a sedentary lifestyle for many years, now returning to sports with excitement, wanting to keep up with the trend, or to exercise.
Sudden transition from a static state to high-intensity exercise can easily lead to damage to the musculoskeletal system.
Women over 30 years old are susceptible to injury - Photo: TA
According to Dr. Leslie Michaud (University of Colorado, USA), women's bodies begin to experience a decline in bone density after the age of 30, along with a gradual loss of muscle mass if there is no regular physical training foundation.
When exercising vigorously or changing positions suddenly, the risk of sprains, torn tendons, or broken bones is very high, especially in the wrists, ankles, knees, and shoulders.
Even younger women are not aware of warm-ups, cool-downs, and “stop-stop” techniques. This is the most common “injury trap.”
Substandard yard
Pickleball requires a flat court with the right amount of grip, not too hard and not too slippery.
As the pickleball movement exploded so quickly, many people took advantage of tennis courts, badminton courts or even vacant lots to play. This inadvertently increased the risk of accidents as players ran – stopped – jumped – turned.
Tennis courts are often slippery, suitable for long, even strides, while pickleball requires short reflexes and constant changes of direction.
Badminton court surfaces are slippery and lighter, making it easier to slip. Man-made grounds are often rough, with foreign objects or sinkholes, making it easy for players to trip or dislocate their joints when landing incorrectly.
According to sports biomechanics expert Steve Gallimore (Australia), the human motor system can adapt to different sports, but only if the field conditions are designed to be compatible.
Any deviation in flatness, roughness, or elasticity can directly affect a player’s reflexes, landing force, and even joint rotation. When combined with ill-fitting footwear or poor technique, the risks increase dramatically.
Climate and weather factors
Unlike indoor sports, pickleball is mainly played outdoors. In tropical countries like Vietnam, hot weather, high humidity or erratic weather changes during the day directly affect the body's ability to move and recover.
High temperatures cause muscles to tire quickly and lose elasticity; excessive sweating causes dehydration, reduces blood circulation to active muscle groups, increasing the risk of muscle cramps or tears.
Wrong technique is also a factor leading to injury - Photo: PA
In addition, the court surface can become too hard in hot weather or slippery in wet weather, leading to the risk of slipping. High humidity also increases the friction between shoes and the court, making reflexes less accurate, making it easy to dislocate the ankle or knee.
According to the Journal of Environmental Physiology (2022), exercising outdoors in hot conditions without proper preparation in terms of clothing, hydration, and rest periods can increase the risk of muscle and tendon injuries by 30–40% compared to exercising in cool, stable conditions.
Pickleball is not as easy as many people think.
This is probably the most common misconception. Although the court is smaller than tennis, the ball is lighter, and the racket is shorter, pickleball is fast-paced, requires constant reflexes, and requires almost constant movement.
A 15–30 minute game can burn as many calories as jogging at a moderate pace.
According to Harvard Medical School, playing pickleball at moderate intensity burns 400 to 600 calories per hour – equivalent to playing badminton or amateur soccer.
Not only that, pickleball technique is often overlooked by players. Many players use their shoulder and elbow muscles incorrectly when hitting the ball, or do not have the correct foot-to-ground technique, leading to muscle strain, arthritis or ligament tears in a short time.
Sports doctor David Geier (USA) warns: “Pickleball is only gentle if you have the right technique, prepare well and play at a moderate level. But when players consider it a sport that is ‘okay to practice’, it is that subjectivity that is dangerous.”
According to data from the NEISS (National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, USA) injury surveillance system , the period 2010–2019 recorded 28,984 pickleball injuries in people aged 60 and older, compared to 58,836 tennis injuries.
Since 2018, the number of pickleball injuries in this group has caught up with and even surpassed tennis, due to the rapid increase in pickleball players.
The most common injury mechanism for pickleball is falls, which result in fractures of the wrist, shoulder, or hip – accounting for about 28% of all cases. Meanwhile, tennis often causes soft tissue injuries such as sprains and strains.
Notably, the rate of hospitalization due to pickleball injuries is higher than tennis (17.9% compared to 14.5%). Experts warn that, although considered a "gentle" sport, pickleball has many potential risks for the elderly - even more dangerous than tennis if not played properly and without a suitable physical foundation.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/noi-pickleball-la-mon-the-thao-nhe-nhung-sao-chan-thuong-nang-2025062518153656.htm
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