Top 5 Easiest Ways to Prevent Pickleball Injuries

Hey Pickleballers!

As pickleball popularity continues to rise, so does it’s associated injuries.

Now, most of us are pickleball enthusiast, that have day jobs which prevents us from undergoing a rock solid rehab / performance training program to prevent pickleball injuries… (but if you are one of these people, come back to check out a future blog post on this). Because we all have time restraints, I’ve developed a list of the 5 EASIEST WAYS to Prevent Pickleball Injuries without having to go through a rigorous program.

Here they are!

Before playing…

• [1] Don’t Play Cold

  In other words, Warm Up. It takes time for our minds to fully connect with our muscles for the upcoming amazing pickleball plays that are about to happen, especially if we’ve been stuck sitting at work all day. So, at the very least, before you start playing games:

  • Take 2 mins to hit some Dinks at the kitchen with your partner followed by taking a couple of steps off the kitchen to hit some Drives for another 2 mins. This will warm up your hands, wrists and arms. Make sure to start hitting balls slightly away from each other so you can also warm up your feet, ankles and legs.

  • Lastly, hit a couple of lobs to each other so you can hit some overhead shots. We don’t usually hit too many overheads but it’s still good to do so to warm up your shoulders.

  There you have it. The barebones, easiest 5 mins warm up.

During play…

• [2] Drink Enough Water

  This is not one most people think about but it is very important to stay hydrated, BEFORE you get thirsty. Our body needs water for brain and muscle processes and if we are dehydrated, our body starts directing water to our vital organs like our heart and lungs, instead of our brain and muscles.

  So when dehydration sets in, we often to start getting “foggy” or “unfocused” or '“tired” which all can lead to decreased brain and muscle coordination which increases our chances of injury. To combat this:

  Stay hydrated by ALWAYS drinking some fluids between games, whether you are thirsty or not.

• [3] Listen to Your Body

  Our body often gives us warning signs of when it’s not feeling well. We often ignore them or fail to recognize them all together. Here are some signs you should call it a day.

  • Dizziness

  • Sudden sharp pain followed by swelling / bruising

  • Feeling a “pull” that leads to ongoing pain

  • Feeling really tired

  • Feeling “off balance” or just “off”

  • Oncoming muscle or joint soreness above resting baseline

  • Any “weird” symptoms outside your usual pickleball sessions, (ie. really fast heart rate, really laboured breathing, etc)

  If any of these signs show up during play, you should assess whether to take a break or call it a day. Remember, most injuries come when our bodies are tired so know when to stop playing so you can play another day. Speaking of which…

After playing…

• [4] Don’t Play 3 Days in a Row

  “Too much, too soon” is often a phrase I often use in my physiotherapy practice to denote sudden onset, overuse injuries. Our bodies need time to adapt to the stresses pickleball puts it under and if we are only “weekend warriors” (and lets face it, most of us are), the general rule of thumb is to take a day break if you’ve played two days in a row. This will give our bodies a resting period to heal and to prepare us for inevitable next play session cause come on, we ain’t stopping playing pickelball right?

  As mentioned above, most injuries happen when our bodies are tired and that’s not just during a single play session but it can also carries through to multiple sessions. So try to limit your consecutive days play to just two days.

• [5] Gentle Cooling Down

  Now immediately after playing, you can help yourself tremendously by cooling down. Take 3-5 mins to do some gentle stretches in the muscular areas you used most which usually includes forearms/wrists, shoulders, quads, hamstrings and calves. We will link Here to a quick stretching routine you can do to cool down.

  Even doing one stretch of 20-30sec per muscles groups, while you chat about that amazing rally your group just had, can help decrease the post exercise muscle soreness and help you recover faster for the next session.

  Muscles are the easiest to stretch when they are warm and they will be warm right after you play. Take advantage of this cause stretching here will be more bang for your buck in terms of effectiveness.

There you have it, the 5 Easiest Ways to Prevent Pickleball Injuries…

Now, implementing these 5 ways are a great start to minimizing risk of injuries but it won’t fully prevent injuries 100% (no program can). If you have the time, make sure you start building your body’s fitness and strength to tolerate the demands of pickleball along the frequency of which you play. More blog posts on these topics in the future so be sure to check back!

Now go out, have fun and start playing Ready Pickleball!

Manni Wong

founder of Ready Pickleball Club and Registered Physiotherapist