Eisenhower Health at Rancho Mirage reports an increase in pickleball-related injuries among older adults. The increase in injuries is attributed to the game’s growing popularity and ease of play, which has attracted a significant number of older players to the sport.
“People often think they won’t get injured playing pickleball, but when they don’t anticipate what might happen, that’s when these injuries happen,” said Dr. Rajiv Tailor, medical director of the Eisenhower Sports Medicine Clinic. in a recent newsletter.
According to Dr. Tailor, the most common injuries that result from pickleball include arthritis flare-ups, pickleball elbow, rotator cuff damage, strained hamstrings, ankle sprains, and Achilles tendon problems.
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“In most cases, if we give it some time and take the right measures (ice, gentle stretching, rest, anti-inflammatories if necessary), we should see a recovery, but as we age, the body often doesn’t recover.” recover as quickly as we would like,” he said.
To prevent injury, Dr. Tailor advises pickleball players, especially older adults, to warm up and cool down with stretching and range-of-motion exercises. He also recommends being aware of your body’s signals to relax or take a break, and wearing functional braces if you have orthopedic conditions like osteoarthritis.
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