Have you caught the pickleball craze? While relatively new in the net game landscape, pickleball has been rapidly gaining in popularity with players of all ages, and for good reason. Those who play say they appreciate that it is easy to learn, provides a good workout, improves hand-eye coordination, and can be safer than other competitive aerobic sports.
If you’re interested in joining the pickleball trend, here are the basics that you need to know:
- Pickleball players use a paddle and a lightweight plastic ball with holes, and the game incorporates elements of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong
- For a quick, broad-view tutorial on pickleball basics, here’s a crash course on the rules: 10 Essential Pickleball Rules to Learn Before You Play – Paddletek Pickleball, LLC
- It qualifies as a moderate-intensity exercise, meaning that players benefit from increased heart rate and increased calorie burn. Because of its aerobic properties, benefits of playing also include regulated blood sugar, lower blood pressure, improved heart health, decreased levels of stress, and positive moods
- Communication with your teammate and a positive attitude will help your experience to be much more enjoyable
Most importantly, don’t let the senior citizen crowd fool you – pickleball can be a physically demanding sport, and all players must take care to avoid common injuries.
A few of the most common pickleball-related injuries we see in our Fountain Hills medical clinic include: shoulder strain, falls, sprains, elbow tendonitis, and Achilles tendonitis.
To avoid game-related injuries, we recommend the following steps for new beginners and novices alike; regardless of age:
- Wear proper footwear – Opt for a tennis shoe, which has firmer sides to accommodate quick movements back and forth, over a typical running shoe
- Stretch, stretch, stretch – After a brief warm-up and before your game starts, take a few minutes to stretch your calves, Achilles tendons, shoulders, back, and hamstrings. Unstretched muscles are much more likely to get strained, often requiring long periods of rest
- If you do get hurt, get help – There’s no wisdom in “toughing out” an injury. It’s important to seek medical care and/or advice when hurt. Fountain Hills Medical Center can help diagnose the issue and screen for more serious injuries. Our top-rated medical staff in Fountain Hills can provide advice for preventing injury, treatment for existing injuries, complete any needed scans and tests, and make recommendations for how to practice pickleball safely
- Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate – Our medical team recommends that when you’re being active in the heat, you should be drinking 7-10 ounces of water every 10-20 minutes of exercise
- Recognize and respect your personal limitations – While all players should be mindful of not overdoing it, those who are older, those who are new to pickleball, and those who play many times per week are particularly susceptible to game-related injuries
As your Fountain Hills medical team, we’re thrilled that such a fun, healthy sport is becoming so popular. Anything that gets our patients moving and exercising is a ‘win’ in our book. As with any sport, players must pay attention to potential injuries that could possibly take them out of the game long-term. However, if you take care to be mindful of risks, you can easily enjoy many years of “dinking” around on the courts and enjoying all the wonderful benefits of this fun sport.
