Many Pickleball Players Ignore This Crucial Step—Until They Get Hurt

Despite pickleball’s surging popularity, players routinely skip the most vital injury prevention step: proper warm-up. Emergency room visits have skyrocketed, with a staggering 90-fold increase in fractures over two decades. The 50-plus crowd bears the brunt, accounting for 87% of serious injuries. Most players dash straight into games, ignoring the recommended 5-10 minutes of dynamic stretching. Those precious warm-up minutes could mean the difference between staying in the game or joining the injury statistics.

While pickleball has exploded in popularity as America’s fastest-growing sport, so have the injuries that come with it. What’s the vital step that players keep skipping? Proper warm-up and stretching. Yeah, that basic thing everyone knows they should do but conveniently ignores until they’re hobbling off the court.

The statistics are pretty grim. Between 2002 and 2022, fractures skyrocketed – we’re talking a 90-fold increase. And here’s the kicker: most of these injuries could have been prevented with some simple pre-game preparation. But no, players just grab their paddles and charge onto the court like they’re still twenty years old. A shocking 87% of emergency visits were patients over 50 years old who suffered pickleball-related injuries.

Pickleball injuries have surged dramatically, yet players keep rushing to the court unprepared, ignoring basic warm-up routines like they’re invincible teenagers.

It’s especially problematic for the 50-plus crowd, who make up a significant portion of pickleball enthusiasts. Their bodies aren’t as forgiving as they used to be. Decreased flexibility, weaker muscles, slower reaction times – it’s a recipe for disaster when combined with quick starts, stops, and those tricky directional changes that pickleball demands. Experts recommend at least 5-10 minutes of warm-up before hitting the court. Dynamic stretching has proven particularly effective for preventing injuries while improving muscle flexibility and blood circulation.

The injury list reads like a medical textbook: knee problems, lower back issues, wrist injuries, tennis elbow, and even cardiovascular emergencies. Women in their 60s are particularly vulnerable to fractures, thanks to post-menopausal bone loss. But hey, who needs functioning joints when you can get in “just one more game,” right?

What makes this situation particularly frustrating is how simple the solution is. A proper warm-up routine gets blood flowing, loosens muscles, and prepares the body for activity. It’s not rocket science. Yet players consistently prioritize getting to their initial serve over taking ten minutes to prepare their bodies properly.

The irony? Those same players who can’t spare a few minutes for warm-up often end up spending weeks or months in recovery. Nothing kills your pickleball game quite like a torn rotator cuff or a twisted knee. But apparently, some lessons need to be learned the hard way – usually in an emergency room at 2 AM, wondering why they didn’t just take the time to stretch.