Abstract Background Pickleball has grown rapidly in popularity in recent years, accompanied by an increasing number of reported injuries among players. Our aim is to determine the epidemiology of pickleball-related injuries at a single academic center and evaluate patient-specific factors such as incidence and type of injury, mechanisms of injury, and treatment outcomes. Methods This is a cross-sectional study at a tertiary academic outpatient orthopedic and physical medicine and rehabilitation clinic. We reviewed 164 cases of patients presenting with pickleball-related injuries from 2019 to 2023 involving the shoulder ( n = 23), elbow ( n = 8), wrist/hand ( n = 30), hip/thigh ( n = 9), knee ( n = 52), foot/ankle ( n = 32), and spine ( n = 10). Independent variables included age, gender, and hand dominance. Outcome measures included injury type, laterality, treatment modality, and follow-up duration. Demographic and epidemiologic data were analyzed, and comparisons between injury characteristics were performed using appropriate statistical tests (Fisher’s exact tests and Kruskal-Wallis tests). Results The most common pickleball-related injuries included lateral epicondylitis at the elbow (75%), rotator cuff tears at the shoulder (70%), distal radius fractures after a fall at the hand/wrist (60%), Achilles tendon tears at the foot/ankle (50%), radicular pain and spinal stenosis at the spine (50% each), medial meniscus tears at the knee (48%), and hamstring strain or rupture and iliopsoas tendinitis at the hip/thigh (33% each).Rates of injury were similar between male and female players except in the hand/wrist, which was higher among female players (77%). Non-paddle side injuries in the upper extremity occur disproportionally higher in the hand/wrist (52%) when compared to the shoulder (7%) or elbow (17%) ( p < 0.01). There was no significant difference in laterality for lower extremity and spine injuries. Conclusions As pickleball has become the fastest growing sport in America, the incidence of pickleball-related injuries has risen dramatically. Characterizing the wide spectrum of musculoskeletal injuries unique to pickleball may inform athletes on injury prevention considerations and allows for targeting modifiable risk factors.
Meng et al. (Tue,) studied this question.