Posted on 06/29/2023 7:07:08 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
Pickleball, America’s fastest-growing sport, is taking a toll on players’ wrists, legs and shoulders. And it’s especially popular with injury-prone seniors, which is driving up the cost burden.
Pickleball injuries may cost Americans $377 million in health care costs this year, accounting for 5% to 10% of total unexpected medical costs, UBS analysts estimated in a report Monday.
“While we generally think of exercise as positively impacting health outcomes, the ‘can-do’ attitude of today’s seniors can pose greater risk in other areas such as sports injuries, leading to a greater number of orthopedic procedures,” the analysts said.
Pickleball-related injuries occur most frequently in older people, according to a 2021 medical study. From 2010-2019, 86% of emergency department visits due to pickleball injuries occurred in people over 60 years old, according to the medical study. Around 60% of pickleball injuries are sprains, strains and fractures. Twenty percent are contusions, abrasions, or internal injuries; and fewer than 10% are lacerations or dislocations.
The analysts estimated that there will be around 67,000 emergency room visits, 366,000 outpatient visits and 9,000 outpatient surgeries related to pickleball injuries this year.
Pickleball exploded since the pandemic began, and that’s leading to more injuries. According to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association trade group, pickleball has grown from 3.5 million players in 2019 to 8.9 million in 2022. The number of players will jump to 22 million this year, the UBS analysts estimate.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Pickleball is almost sedentary. Intercourse is more strenuous. Gonna ban that? And I can’t wait for the government to call someone young enough and capable enough to go more than once a night. Have no idea what type of assault thing they are going to call that.
wy69
Table tennis is fun to play, but watching? Meh, I dunno- it’s OK for a few matches I guess, but again, it’s not tennis, and not a large gathering of fans. It’s a niche sport, like pickle ball or badminton. I played agaisnt some really good players, table tennis, and it was a blast, but again, playing it is better than watching it. The pros of course are much more skilled, quick, etc. But to me it’s just confined to too tight an area, whereas things like tennis take skill and a ton of endurance.
I like wa5ching ax and knife throwing and darts from time to time, but I dunno, they just don’t have “It” as far as primetime “sports” go imo.
If we can save just one life with “sensible picklebal regulations” it’ll be worth it lo.
Exactly it’s a sport that appeals to an older crowd that is less physical and easier to play than tennis
I agree that table tennis and badminton are niche sports, though really good play of either is fun to watch. Personally, I get bored sooner watching tennis, but everyone prefers different things.
I haven’t played badminton since I was a kid in the backyard myself. Played table tennis for quite a few years but was never all that good, and now my hands have slowed down a lot. Even at my best, I played guys (and some women, too) who could spot me 18 points and the starting serve and beat me to 21 every time.
Careful...the trannies will take over and ruin it for everyone.
I see the “Keep Our Own Kids Safe” folks have moved on to something else.
The same was said about racquetball in the 1980s.
I thought that might be the case. All those activities requiring sudden changes of direction and acceleration — like basketball, tennis, racketball, football, etc. will put tremendous stresses on the ligaments, tendons, joints, bones even. It reminds me of the first time I was invited to observe and participate in crossfit class. The sell was that it was suitable for people of all abilities and ages — but I noticed the old people in the back were hardly moving along with the rest of the class — while the best athlete, suffered a session-ending Achilles tendon rupture — that the instructor did not recognize or acknowledge but encouraged everyone to continue to do their utmost.
The safest activities for people of any age and ability is to move slowly, deliberately and under control — while extending one’s range of movement as much as possible and comfortable — and in that manner increasing the circulation and lubrication for that range. That is why yoga, tai-chi, and high repetition light weight-training (50 repetitions) articulating the fullest range of movement from full contraction to full relaxation at a comfortable pace are best suited to those purposes — because any sustained muscular activity (even walking while talking) will raise the heart rate over the 60% of maximum threshold to obtain a cardio benefit.
One doesn’t have to go to 100+% of maximum as the most competitive pride themselves on achieving — because that is the danger zone required only for the most dire of necessities and not something one wants to get into the habit of doing — like racing one’s car at top speed at all times.
Instead, one is intending to develop a greater and excess capacity in reserve to have that available for recovery and resiliency — and not to test and exhaust it at every possible opportunity until the inevitable injury occurs and sidelines them for the remainder of their lives. That is the measure of a good exercise program — that it reduces the possibility of injury and exhausting the recovery ability — especially as one gets older.
Does that mean that one should do nothing? No, it means that they have to develop and practice exercise with all those considerations in mind — and not that whatever doesn’t kill them (or severely injures them) makes them stronger. Even the lions in the wild don’t operate that way — but calculate the risks to rewards, knowing that just a lucky toss of the head can impale them on the antelope’s horn — and then they are done as the king of the beasts. So they don’t charge the Cape Buffalo head-on, but from the rear as much as possible.
That is the reason even world-champion athletes abandon highly competitive activities in favor of non-competitive activities — if they can still move at all in their later years. They are not even thinking of competing against themselves — but finding out what their bodies are presently capable and comfortable with doing. That is what they determine for themselves — rather than that being influenced and dictated by another — who is trying to make it as difficult as possible for the other person. That’s how a lot of injuries occur, but also, a lot of injuries are self-inflicted by a person outdoing themselves by their own conditioning.
i got fairly good at it- had a fella in college who was unbeatable- i played against him for quite awhile- i got pretty good at hitting the edge of the table and just rolling the ball over the net- but never could win against him- he was always up for the challenge though- the game was more fun for him when winning lol
Yes. My 70-year-old lady friend got a concussion from falling backwards while playing pickle ball.
$17/.14, the average price per person, is about the price of an Ace bandage and a bottle of Ibuprofen. The benefits of activity and socializing outweigh this as we saw back in 2020
I know what you mean. My nephew is ranked #2 nationally in pickleball men's doubles. He plays on a whole other level.
The shorter distances and slower whiffle ball make this a safer game for seniors than tennis. Injuries are just showing up on a national level because of the extremely high popularity. It's doing more good than harm. Leave pickleball alone.
We know a non related RN, who knows everything, getting ready for her #2 knee replacement.
She had a terrible time with her first knee replacement.
Her ortho surgeons’ recommended that @ age 70+, she should stop Pickle Ball and do walking and/or riding 3 wheel bikes.
Of course she will not listen to them.
I have to say pickleball is pretty much a dud in my blue state metro area. The local park district converted one of their tennis courts into 2 pickleball courts. I drive by or walk by the court on occasion and nobody is playing tennis or pickleball.
Is there more injuries in Pickleball than Tennis? I guess if more people that are not in good physical condition play Pickleball than the folks plying Tennis I could see that happening.
I never saw the attraction of playing ping pong with oversized paddles and balls on an oversized “table”.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.