Pickleball is exploding â if you donât play it right now, you likely know someone who is. Itâs a slower pace sport with a social focus and less running than tennis, but players can get competitive.
According to Pickleball Canada, at least once a month.
âItâs just so much fun, its great exercise and you get to meet a lot of interesting people.â said Tim Pennal, who plays at the Progress Pickleball Club in Toronto. Heâs been playing it for 10 years and canât get enough of the game. âVery addictive, I play everyday, Monday to Friday thatâs my job in retirement,â said Pennal.
But as the sport rises in popularity, so, too, have the number of injuries associated with it.
âI've picked people up here that have fallen down, hurt themselves, broken wrists, pulled muscles in legs. It happens a lot, but I think the conditioning for the lungs and heart are so much better, it makes it worth it.â said Mike Livie, president of the Progress Pickleball Club.
Injuries can range from pulled muscles, sprains and strains, to more serious injuries like Achilles tendon rupture and upper body fractures.
Harold Phillips was experiencing his first game when he suffered a serious injury.
âRight after the break, I lunged for the ball, heard a pop and that was it, the Achilles tendon ruptured and that was the end of my Pickleball career⌠for this year anyways,â said Phillips.
He was testing out the sport after hearing about it from friends. A very active person who plays a lot of sports, Phillips is hopeful for a full recovery.
âI saw my orthopedic surgeon yesterday, she said no surgery; itâs a standard 12-week protocol. Itâs very common, of course, I have an air cast on for a certain period of time,â said Phillips, who starts physiotherapy next week and plans to return to the court once heâs cleared.
Analysts in the United States estimate .
Dr. Nathan Urquhart is an orthopedic surgeon in Halifax who speclializes in sports medicine. Heâs seeing an increase in injury at his clinic.
âPickleball is slower pace, however, you could still get into a surprising amount of trouble and a lot of times, itâs people who find it exciting, interesting, they havenât really maybe done some activities for a while,â said Urquhart.
He wants to encourage as much physical activity as possible and get people active outdoors, but Urquhart cautions that with any sport comes risk.
âItâs just about how much risk you want to bite off and the risk of injury is different depending on age,â he said.
While the sport is growing in popularity with players aged 18 to 34, it is very common with people in their 50s and 60s, who have a higher risk of muscles tweaks, sprains and even fractures.
âWeâre seeing a lot of Achilles tendon ruptures, but also a lot of upper extremity fractures in the over 60 population,â said Urquhart. He attributes that to the way the game is played, youâre not running for the ball, but you may make sudden movements. âThey try to change directions their centre of mass, itâs a little far outside where their feet are and they trip and fall.â
The sport is a social activity, but it can get competitive â even for beginners. âEveryone wants to be a pickleball world champion and they get out there and start playing aggressive,â said Urquhart, adding, âTheir mind is writing checks that their body canât cash kind of thing.â
And not everyone falls as gracefully as they once did, âwhen weâre younger, weâll do a more âtuck-and-roll,â whereas when youâre a little bit older, you just fall and plant your hand and you end up with a sequence of fractures,â said Urquhart.
For the most part, sports specialists say you shouldnât let a risk of injury stop you â itâs a fun sport, with millions now playing it worldwide.
âIts just so much fun, its great exercise and you get to meet a lot of interesting people,â said Pennal.
Just know your body limit and be sure to warm up before you hit the court.
