Why Pickleball Injuries Aren't About Pickleball

Written by Victor Chan | Physical Preparation Coach Singapore

Here’s what they don’t tell you – pickleball injuries aren’t about pickleball.

Have you ever wondered why some people get injured while others seem to play forever without issue? Because every body shows up to the court with a different history.

The old uncle playing twice a day – he’s likely retired with a lot of free time to build capacity, gradually adapt, and recover between sessions.

The executive who seemed to go from zero to hundreds in months – she probably had years of badminton or tennis under her belt before she ever picked up a paddle.

The competitive player doing flexibility work before you’ve reached the court – they’re preparing the body for the demands that’s about to come.

Different starting points. Different preparation. Different outcomes.

So what does pickleball actually demand of your body? Multi-directional changes on your knees from the starting, stopping and covering while advancing to the kitchen line. Torso rotations from your forehand and backhand strokes in an imbalanced fashion. Repetitive impact on an elbow that is required to do all the hitting. Hours of play after a full day of sitting at a desk.

The sport doesn’t punish you for playing it. It punishes you for playing it without preparation.

You’ll find the injuries all over medical sites – tennis elbow, patellar tendinopathy, rotator cuff impingement, rolled ankles, lower back strain. Naming the injury is one thing. Knowing why it happens is another. And you can replace pickleball with any racket sport and the pattern holds. The sport isn’t the cause. The mismatch between what the sport demands and what your body’s been prepared for is.

So what do most people actually do when pain or niggles show up? Usually some combination of these suggestions. You’ve probably tried a few yourself – or watched friends try them. Each has its place. Let’s look at what they actually do (and don’t).

Common solutions and their trade-offs:

• Heavy-duty knee or elbow guards – manages the symptom during play.
  But it doesn’t address why the joint is hurting in the first place.
  
  
• Extended rest – lets the body calm down.
  But once the stimulus (the game) kicks back in, the flare-up returns.
  
  
• Painkillers – mask the pain signal and let you keep playing.
  But the damage is still happening. The body shuts down once it’s at its limit.
  
  
• NSAIDs – reduce inflammation to extend play.
  But it doesn’t address how the inflammation got there.
  
  
• YouTube strengthening exercises – this is a big hit or miss as it either relieves or damages you fast.
  But it is generic advice from creators who don’t know your body, your history, or your specific gaps.
  
  
• New gear (paddle / shoes) – sometimes legitimately helpful, especially if what you had was a total mismatch.
  But sometimes a workaround for a problem that gear can’t actually solve.

What’s one thing in common between all these solutions?

The same elbow guard, rest protocol, YouTube routine, paddle recommendations are all suggested to people with different histories, baselines, and requirements. What’s actually missing here is individualization. A plan that’s calibrated to your body, your history, and your goals.

What individualization actually looks like for pickleball:

• Preparation specific to YOU and YOUR pickleball play
  Not the 5-minute SOP style dinking warmup before social play. Real preparation considers what you’ve just walked away from – likely an 8-hour day at a desk, and what you’re about to do: 60-90 minutes of explosive, multi-directional play, rotational shots, and repetitive impact. What does YOUR body need to bridge those two states? The answer depends on your history, your day, and the kind of session you’re walking into.
  
  
• Recovery specific to YOU and YOUR pickleball week
  Sleep and hydration are fundamentals, not the biggest movers. The bigger needle-movers sit between sessions. Each individual requires a different recovery approach, because each one has a different performance capability. Your recovery should match the demands you’re placing on your body, not what the player next to you does.
  
  
• Awareness of YOUR body’s history
  What previous niggles, injuries, or imbalances are still influencing how you load joints on the court today? The old ankle sprain that never fully healed – does your right foot still load slightly differently when you lunge for a reset? The shoulder you tweaked years ago – is it changing how you serve? Generic solutions ignore this. Individualized work starts here.

That’s why common pickleball injuries keep returning – the underlying mismatch hasn’t changed. And it’s why getting better at pickleball isn’t really about more sessions, more drills, or better gear. It’s about removing the limiting factor (handbrake) before you work harder (accelerator).