Pickleball is a fast-growing sport with an increasing number of players across the country. But it’s also an activity with quick and explosive movements that can lead to injuries for players who don’t prepare themselves properly.

“A lot of folks haven’t played sports in years, and they pick up pickleball because their friends are playing,” says Dr. Henry Lau, a family medicine physician at Tidelands Health Family Medicine at Holmestown Road who also is a pickleball player.

Often, those new pickleball players are coming back into sports after many years of less vigorous activity. Many of them also are 50 and older, increasing the risk of injury, Dr. Lau says.

While most players don’t encounter an injury, a 2019 study published by the Journal of Emergency Medicine estimated there were about 19,000 pickleball injuries a year, with 90 percent of them affecting people 50 or older.

“Because they haven’t played sports in a long time, balance and proprioception – the sense of their body in space – isn’t there,” Dr. Lau says.

Pickleball offers a fun way to exercise and has surged in popularity in recent years. It is played on a tennis court with a whiffle-style hollow plastic ball and large, ping pong-style paddles. Like tennis, it can challenge players to move quickly back and forth and side-to-side to return volleys.

Those backing movements, in particular, can set up players for falls onto the hard, concrete court. Those falls can lead to fractures of the pelvis, wrists and ribs – including the potential for a punctured lung – and other traumatic injuries.

Pickleball can also aggravate underlying conditions such as unstable angina, respiratory issues and blood pressure problems.

“Underlying arthritis in the lower back and knees could get worse with increased activity,” Dr. Lau says.

At the low end of injuries, players can develop tendonitis in their elbows (tennis elbow), wrists, knees and shoulders.

There are simple steps you can take to help you avoid injuries while playing pickleball.

“Stretching beforehand is essential, but what really is important is taking some lessons and getting some coaching,” Dr. Lau says.

Lessons and coaching can help players learn proper form to reduce the potential of overusing or straining muscles.

Some practice sessions in the kind of movements pickleball requires, such as backpedaling and shifting side-to-side, can also help players be more secure in their playing. Strengthening core muscles through exercises such as planks and crunches also can help.

Before picking up the paddle, though, make sure you’re adequately warming up with dynamic stretches such as forward lunges with rotation, inchworms and arm circles.

For people who haven’t been active in a few years, it’s important to start slowly, Dr. Lau says. And if you hurt yourself, don’t play through the pain and risk further injury.