Enjoy pickleball but want to avoid injuries and improve your skills? This episode has key tips to keep you in top shape.

We'll explore how stretching, recovery tools, and pain relievers can help prevent common pickleball injuries. You'll learn practical strategies to use before and after games to stay healthy and have even more fun playing.

Dive in to become an injury prevention pro and elevate your pickleball game!

Episode Video

Pickleball may be the hottest sport around, but with more people playing comes more injuries. To keep yourself on the court, injury prevention is key. Let's explore the different ways to prevent injuries, so you can keep enjoying the game.

Pickleball Injuries Prevention

The most important thing is to establish a routine and use it regularly. It doesn't have to be long or complex. After a match or series of matches, before you hop in the car and head home, take a few moments to stretch. This is crucial because many extremity injuries result from overuse and wear and tear. Here are some specific stretches to help you release muscle tension and prevent injuries.

Upper Extremity Stretches

While working on your upper extremities, start by stretching your pecs. A good stretch involves a posterior arm grasp with a tight core, butt tucked in, and abs tight. Drop your shoulder blades together, lower your chin, and raise up to intensify the stretch. Another effective stretch is taking one arm across the body, ensuring you don't pull on the elbow joint but rather on the forearm to stretch the posterior aspect of your shoulder.

Next, focus on the triceps. Keep your core tight, abs tucked in, and drop your chin to your chest. Feel the stretch in your triceps, then switch to the other side. Additionally, move your wrists around to ensure they are not tight. Stretch the wrist extensors and flexors by moving the forearm on both the backside and front side.

Lower Extremity Stretches

For the lower extremities, start with a groin stretch. Place your feet more than hip-distance apart, put your hands on your hips, and bend forward, shifting your weight to feel the stretch in your groin. You can also rotate and point your toes to the sky to transition into a hamstring stretch. Another effective quad stretch involves driving your knee straight towards the ground while keeping your core tight.

To stretch your back, you can sit on the ground and reach forward or use a bench to lean forward. For a calf stretch, find a supportive area, point your toes to the sky, and lean forward. This can also be done on a box or step, hanging off to stretch your calves further.

Hydration and Recovery Tools

Hydration is crucial for preventing injuries. Drink plenty of water. If you're eating, you probably don't need electrolyte drinks as you get enough electrolytes from food. For activities lasting longer than two and a half to three hours at high intensity, consider adding electrolytes. Otherwise, water is sufficient.

A massage gun can be an excellent post-pickleball recovery tool. Portable massage guns can be used right on the court, especially for tight quads and IT bands. They can also help prevent tennis elbow, commonly known in pickleball as pickleball elbow, by targeting the extensors of the forearm.

Pickleball Injuries Remedies

If you experience pain, a topical CBD cream made from hemp can be a non-opioid, non-steroidal, non-addictive remedy. Use a small amount, the size of a garbanzo bean, to cover the affected area.

Final Thoughts

In summary, take five minutes to stretch after every pickleball session. Use recovery tools like a massage gun and stay hydrated to reduce the risk of overuse injuries, such as lateral epicondylitis, rotator cuff tears, wrist sprains and strains, and Achilles tendon tears. Prevention is key to staying on the court and enjoying the game. See you out there!

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