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How to heal your pickleball injury faster & recover better
What is Pickleball?
If you are landing on this page you probably already know what pickleball is because you are probably injured and looking to heal faster. Stay with me… in case this is a family member trying to figure out what pickleball is we have you covered. Pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports in North America. According to Pickleball Canada, “Pickleball Canada is growing at a rate of 500 new members each month.” So this might may you ask… what the heck is pickle ball anyway? Pickle ball is a hybrid racquet sport mix of tennis, badminton and ping pong. From tennis we have the scoring and the court (but played on a smaller more badminton sized court with a lighter (whiffle) ball which is similar to ping pong. The paddle is similar in size to a traditional racquet ball paddle. So you can see it is a real mix and man is it ever a fun game to play!
Why is Pickleball so popular?
Pickleball is particularly popular with the senior population, the baby boomers and is a growing sport for younger people as well. Why is this sport growing so quickly? First of all it is an easy sport for beginners to learn in addition to being a very social game. One reason this may be growing in the senior age group is due to the smaller court size, smaller racquet and lighter ball strength is less of a demand in comparison with tennis. Even though pickleball is a bit easier on the body then tennis there are quite a few injuries that can arise by playing any sport and pickleball is no exception.
Pickleball is a full body workout and demands fitness and strategy. Don’t be fooled by the slower and lighter ‘whiffle’ ball I found that it still packs a punch and because of the smaller court this is still a quick paced game. With the competitive nature of sports injury becomes the biggest health risk of playing. There are common pickleball injuries but the best thing to do is prevent them from happening and then how to heal faster from a pickleball injury.
What are some tips for injury prevention?
What are the most common pickleball injuries?
"The most common pickleball injuries are ankle strain, achilles tendon strain, heel strain , knee sprain, hamstring strain, wrist fracture, and shoulder strain.”
How do these injuries happen... What should I avoid doing?
Ankle strain, achilles tendon strain, knee sprain, hamstring strain, and shoulder strain are all injuries that can occur when reaching for a shot that just a bit out of reach. When a player lunges, stretches or reaches for a shot that is just a bit too out of reach or beyond their ability to reach a few things can happen. Worst case scenario an injury occurs by falling, however, even if they manage to avoid a fall a stretch, strain or sprain can occur. The ankle, calf, hamstring and achilles are commonly strained from overstitching and you will hear a horrible popping or ripping sound which is accompanied with immediate pain. The knee and ankle can be sprained by a sudden change in planes of motion or a twist.
The rotator cuff injury of the shoulder is another common pickle ball injury from landing funny on the shoulder or a weird shot that gets the shoulder out of position and then placed under strain or load when it is not stable enough to stabilize.
Falls
If you have ever played badminton, tennis, ping pong, or beach volleyball you know how easy it is to fall over backwards when the ball is coming at you and you are trying to get out of the way pronto. Backing up is the most common way to fall in any court game and when you fall on an outstretched hand or with a locked out elbow this can end up with a broken bone or intense strain.
Crappy or inadequate footwear is another issue or cause of falls. Court shoes are made for… you guessed it… court games. Running shoes are not. (hint… they are made for running). Running shoes have a wedged heel which makes it easier to trip when back pedalling and court shoes have a flat soul making it easier to traverse the court in all directions.
Weekend warriors
It is easy to think that we are teenagers, able to heal with the flip of a switch and recover like a champion. As we age it is more important to start new sports with ease. And maybe don’t go balls to the wall until your body is conditioned to do so. But I get it… pickle ball is just so much dang fun that you want to go every day all day. The idea of taking time off is painful and sometimes even more painful than the pain itself.
Enter tennis elbow, shoulder strain, heel strain and all the other overuse injuries that can crop up when we tackle a new sport too intensely. It is important to deal with this if these injuries crop up so that you can get back on the court doing what you love! So let’s get to how to heal faster and recover better from a pickleball injury.
How to heal faster and recover better from a Pickleball Injury
To help you get back on the court faster you could use Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy (PEMF) to speed up the recovery time of common injuries. You may be wondering how PEMF can aid in a strain, tear or sprain. PEMF is a magnetic therapy that works on the cellular level bringing circulation to the area of injury, decreasing inflammation and allowing the cell to get back to optimum levels of health. When the cells are healthy the body is healthy. Injuries take time to repair, however the FDA has approved PEMF for use on fractures that with the use of PEMF heal in approximately half of the time — so do open wounds, including surgical wounds. Ligaments and tendons do extremely well under the use of PEMF. PEMF brings down swelling and when swelling is present the tissues do not accept oxygen and nutrients at optimal levels so it takes longer for the area to heal. With PEMF the swelling and inflammation goes down which enable the cells to accept nutrients and oxygen which increases the healing. As mentioned, PEMF increases the uptake of oxygen into the muscle.
Obviously consult your physician before taking any medication or beginning a new exercise practice. But, if you are cleared for basic exercise then you are ready for PEMF. Please check out the videos below of fellow athletes that have used PEMF to heal their injuries and have gotten back to doing what they love!
A few testimonial videos of PEMF in action!
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Give us a call or book a pemf session to heal your pickleball injury faster!
We are thrilled to offer you the best PEMF Therapy on the market today. If you’d like to know more about Pulse (PEMF) Therapy, please see our Frequently Asked Questions page and if you can’t find enough info there shoot us an email with any additional questions you may have to info@pulsespa.ca.
