Proper preparation can prevent pickleball injuries

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...