Common Pickleball Injuries & How to Avoid Them Pt. 2
Welcome back to part two of my post on common pickleball injuries. Join me as I continue to cover the various injuries you may experience while playing, and how to prevent them.
Knee Injury
The next injury is one I had not associated with pickleball before my friend had her accident on the court the other day. The injury I am referring to affects the knee, and it is the dreaded ACL tear. This is when a ligament inside your knee is torn, and it can make walking very difficult and painful. Typically this injury requires surgery, which can take months to recover from.
I did not witness the accident, but she told me she was playing pickleball and suffered the injury when she had jumped for the ball. When she landed with bad footing her knee gave out and she remembered hearing a cracking sound followed by terrible pain. As she needed assistance getting off the court, she knew it was clearly serious enough to go to the hospital. I believe that this is something that could happen to anyone, but there are ways we can try to prevent it.
Prevention
One thing you can do is to be sure to warm up your body and stretch a bit before playing aggressively in a game, tight muscles are more likely to tear. It is also good to try and stay focused on how you respond during a game, as it is easy to get swept up in the excitement of a play and attempt a risky shot. I often allow myself to get carried away in the spirit of competition, and attempt risky shots that could very easily have caused injury, however, I always remain aware of my footing. It is important to know your physical limitations, and remember it is okay to play the game that is right for you. In many cases, the wild shots people will get injured attempting are often missed or quickly smashed back anyway.
Hips
The next injury is not one I see often, but is one I hear a lot about from my mom or other over 50 players. Hip strains and tears can be quite painful, and can take a long time to heal. Pickleball is a sport of abrupt movement, and if your body is not used to moving this way then hip strains and tears are a legitimate risk. To prevent these types of injuries it is good to make sure you have good physical fitness before playing, so your body is not totally shocked when it is forced to move on the court. It is also very important to warm up and stretch before playing aggressively.
Rolled Ankles & Sprains
This is a very common injury I see on the court. It occurs when someone changes direction quickly or lands improperly when jumping for the ball. This injury can heal quickly if ice is applied quickly and rest is taken. To prevent this injury, be sure to have good shoes with proper ankle support and traction. As with preventing all other injuries, a sufficient warmup and stretch will also go a long way at preventing this injury.
I hope that this post has not scared anyone away from trying pickleball, as it is a fun game for players of all ages and fitness levels. That being said, injuries can occur and it is always a good idea to be proactive when it comes to prevention.
All unsourced photos were taken by myself on a cheap Oppo. Thank you for reading! :)