Pickleball Injury Prevention: How to Stay Safe on the Court
- Dr. David Didlake, DPT
- Feb 7
- 6 min read
Updated: Mar 3
Did you know that the fastest growing sport in America is pickleball? According to a 2024 Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) report, pickleball grew to 13.6 million players in the United States. That's roughly 3 million more players than the entire population of Sweden (which according to Sweden's official website is 10.6 million people).
What's more is that from 2001 to 2017 approximately 33% of pickleballers who sought medical assistance for an injury suffered either a sprain or strain (Greiner et al. 2019). Which means one in three of these pickleball players injured their ligaments, or, their muscles and tendons, while playing pickleball. Talk about getting pickled!
Nobody wants to lose a game of pickleball, and certainly nobody wants to get injured, but what if you could minimize your risk of getting injured?
what if you could minimize your risk of getting injured?
The good news is that YOU CAN MINIMIZE YOUR INJURY RISK WITH PROPER PICKLEBALL INJURY PREVENTION!
So let's not dink around any longer, and attack this pickler head on.
PICKLEBALL INJURY RISK FACTORS
A recent article by Prayudho and colleagues found several factors that contributed to injuries among pickleball players. Listed among these factors were improper equipment (i.e. ill fitting shoes), poor technique, history of injury, lack of a warmup, inadequate stretching, and insufficient hydration.
improper equipment (i.e. ill fitting shoes), poor technique, lack of a warmup, inadequate stretching, and insufficient hydration.
While these factors might seem obvious to you, it's been my experience that many pickleball players fail to adequately warmup, stretch, or hydrate appropriately before, during, and following a pickleball match. Because these seem to be a common pitfall among pickleballers, below are some practical tips regarding effective hydration, warmups, and stretching.
Zero, zero, start.
TIPS TO DECREASE PICKLEBALL INJURY RISK
TIME TO HYDRATE
First of all, it’s critical that you hydrate properly. The human body is composed of more than 60% water by volume, and by losing just 2% of total body water via sweat and elimination processes, performance and cognitive function can be seriously hindered (Kalman & Lepeley 2010). Therefore, a general rule of thumb is to drink half your weight in ounces (of water) per day. However, it's best not to start hydrating before bedtime! In fact, it's a good idea to drink up to 20% of your daily hydration needs shortly after waking up.
Therefore, a general rule of thumb is to drink half your weight in ounces (of water) per day.
While some may think soda, tea, and coffee count towards their daily hydration needs, these three beverages usually contain some type of diuretic (i.e. caffeinated beverages make you pee), which can actually reduce your hydration levels.
Alkaline, hydrogen-rich, or filtered/purified water mixed with a pinch of mineral salt, is a good choice for maintaining adequate hydration. However, some researchers have shown that small amounts of protein used in conjunction with carbohydrate based drinks can help enhance hydration while promoting muscle synthesis AND reduce muscle damage (Seifert et al. 2006). That's pretty amazing. For additional information on hydration, including how to measure water loss through sweat, see my article here!
WARM UP (NOW GIDDYAP!)
A warm up routine is necessary to prime the body for action, so you need to take it seriously. No falafel shots here. If your warm up consists of only a few seconds, you’re really not going to get much out of it.
With that being said, a warm up should last 5 to 10 minutes, or just long enough to get your heart rate up so that you’re sweating slightly. If you spend too much time on your warm up, you can become fatigued, which can negatively affect your performance.
...a warm up should last 5 to 10 minutes, or just long enough to get your heart rate up so that you’re sweating slightly.
See the three following pictures as part of a warm up routine we've created specifically for pickleball players to prevent common injuries.
PICKLEBALL INJURY PREVENTION: ESSENTIAL STRETCHES
If you want a detailed complimentary PDF version of our recommended pickleball warm up routine, click here. This is only available for a limited time, so act soon!
3. GET YOUR STRETCH ON
Finally, you need to stretch your major muscle groups after you’ve performed your warm up. This shouldn’t take more than a few minutes, but it really is critical to stretch while your muscles are warm, and especially muscles that restrict movement. Of course not all pickleball players are going to have muscle tightness in the same location, but regardless of which muscle groups are tight, it's important to use slow and controlled breathing when stretching and to hold each stretch for a minimum of 20-30 seconds (or 3-4 breath cycles). If you want to learn more about breathing, read my article here.
...it's important to use slow and controlled breathing when stretching...and to hold each stretch for a minimum of 20-30 seconds (or 3-4 breath cycles).
See the three following pictures as part of a warm up routine we've created specifically for pickleball players.
If you want a detailed complimentary PDF version of our recommended pickleball warm up routine, click here. This is only available for a limited time, so act soon!
CONSIDER PRIOR INJURY(IES)
Unfortunately, if you’ve had one or more previous injuries, you're at risk for re-injury. However, one of the best ways to minimize your risk for future injuries is to get checked by a sports medical professional who can both test and treat for mobility, strength, and power limitations.
...one of the best ways to minimize your risk for future injuries is to get checked by a sports medical professional...
Fortunately, I have the skillset and the experience to test and treat pickleball athletes who want to either reduce their injury risk, manage an injury, or improve their game (see my article about Physical Therapy here for more information on what I can do specifically to help). In pickleball it might be called a double hit, but when it comes to testing and treating my clients, I call it a win-win!
CONCLUSION
While not all injuries are avoidable, specific risk factors for sprains and strains can be reduced which can decrease the likelihood of sustaining an injury on the court. Benjamin Franklin wisely said, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". As an orthopedic fellowship trained Osteopractic Physical Therapist I firmly believe that preventative measures can reduce risk factors for injury, and are well worth investing in, especially when it comes to health and wellness! Think on it this way, a few visits with me may prevent several months of not playing pickleball due to an injury that was avoidable.
Consequently, the more optimized your hydration, warmup, and stretching routines are, the less likely you are to get injured while playing. But remember, movement, strength, and power enhancement are equally as important, and need to be balanced appropriately. Therefore, I would encourage you to schedule a free 15 minute consultation to see how I can help you!
SCHEDULE YOUR SESSION TODAY!
Here's to the ever elusive golden pickle, and your health!
Dr. David Didlake, DPT
PT, Cert. SMT/DN, CSCS, Cert. TPI Medical Level 3, Dip. Osteopractic, FAAOMPT
Owner, Integrative Therapeutics "Home of the Saint Louis Golf Doc"
Follow me @theintegrativeclinic @thestlgolfdoc
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References
For those interested in the scientific evidence behind injury risk, we've included some key research citations:
Greiner N. Pickleball: injury considerations in an increasingly popular sport. Mo Med. 2019;116:488–491.
Prayudho S., Nasrulloh A., and Skaliy A. Risk factor of pickleball injury: systematic review and meta-analysis. Health, Sport, Rehabil. 2024;10(3):115-124.
Kalman D., and Lepeley A. A review of hydration. Str. & Condition J. 2010;32(2):56-63.
Seifert J., Harmon J., and DeClercq P. Protein added to a sports drink improves fluid retention. Int J Sports Nutr Exerc Metab. 2006;16:420–429.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before beginning any new treatment.
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