Philadelphia is still caught up in pickleball fever, with new courts popping up across the city.
Four new venues are slated to open this spring, including Ballers in Fishtown, Court 16 in Olde Kensington, Portres Sports Club in Northern Liberties and Viva Padel and Pickleball Club in Ludlow.
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But as pickleball continues to grow in popularity, injuries from the sport also are climbing.
Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the country, with more than 48 million adults played pickleball in the past year, according to the Association of Pickleball Professionals and the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. There also has been a 90-fold increase in fractures tied to pickleball in the last 20 years, with a noticeable surge since 2020, according to a 2024 analysis by the Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
Women 65 and older had the most fractures, usually in their upper extremities and most often precipitated by a fall. The researchers surmised that diminishing bone health in postmenopausal women may be the culprit.
Another analysis estimated pickleball injuries cost Americans $250 million to $500 million in 2023.
"It used to be CrossFit, now pickleball keeps us in business," said Dr. Michael Yang, a sports medicine doctor at Jefferson Health.
Of the 30 patients Yang sees each day, one or two have pickleball injuries, he said.
Part of the problem is that people don't tend to think of pickleball as a "vigorous" sport, and so they don't always train properly, Yang said.
"People think it's like ping pong," he said. "It is not like ping pong."
Pickleball includes elements of ping pong, as well as badminton and tennis. "Picklers" use wooden paddles to hit a plastic ball over a net on a court that's the same size as a badminton court.
"These balls are going pretty quickly, and you have to react," Yang said. "You're lunging to get to the ball. You're running backwards. You're going side to side. You're twisting."
When people reach for balls and fall, they have a tendency to sprain or fracture their hands or wrists. Broken kneecaps and sprained and broken ankles are other common pickleball injuries, Yang said.
Also, older people have been drawn to the sport, seeing it as more accessible than tennis. And as people age, tendons become less elastic, cartilage is not as strong, and bone density decreases, making them more prone to injury, Yang said.
"What I tell people is, 'Don't be a hero,'" Yang said. "'If there's a ball coming at you, don't lunge for the ball… Let the ball come to you. If you can't get to it, lose the point. It's OK.'"
Warming up before hitting the court by taking a slow-and-easy jog or doing some jumping jacks will help prevent pickleball injuries. So will dynamic stretching, Yang said.
Conditioning before taking up pickleball and on days off the court also helps. People may want to combine light strength training with aerobic exercise, such as swimming, running or biking, Yang said.
Yale Medicine offers more tips for preventing pickleball injuries:
• Ease into the game. Doing too much, too soon can lead to overuse injuries.
• Get the right gear. Wear supportive court sneakers. Make sure to pick a paddle with the right size grip. If the handle is too wide, it can strain muscles.
• Know when an injury requires medical attention. Ice and rest can treat minor injuries. But if the injury is sudden and acute, possibly a broken wrist or ankle, or if the pain doesn't go away, consult a doctor.