Physical Risk and Benefits Associated with Pickleball in Active Aging Adults

Background and Purpose: Pickleball is an emerging racquet sport in aging active adult communities. While competitive and physically demanding sports are likely an important component in the continued health and quality of life (QoL), with aging comes an increased potential for injury. The fear of sustaining an injury while participating in physical demanding sports often leads to older adults curtailing their participation in these sports-related activities. By succumbing to the fear and reducing their exposure to physical challenges associated with these sports, older adults may subsequently forfeit the potential benefits to be gained from exercising at a high or strenuous level. The current study is a descriptive exploration of the perceptions of older adult related to the benefits and risks of playing pickleball related to injuries.

Methods: An online survey of 129 pickleball players from north Georgia age 50+ was conducted with age breakdown of 54% age 60-69, 32% age 70-79, and 14% age 50-59, and majority being male (57%).

Results and Discussion: Respondents were physically active individuals and dedicated pickleball players. Half (50%) have suffered a physical injury playing pickleball. Additionally, 90% of those injured said that their pickleball injuries did not negatively affect their lives and 85% reported that they do not worry about playing pickleball because of a fear of injury. Falls while playing pickleball were reported by 58% of respondents, yet only 6% reported falls not associated with pickleball (p<0.05 by Chi-Square). Although playing pickleball has an increased risk of injuries, the identified reduction in falls that occurred while not playing pickleball suggests a meaningful benefit of participating in physically demanding sports for the older adult.

Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that, although a substantial number of aging individuals experienced significant injuries while playing pickleball, nearly all believed that the benefits of physical activity and social interactions outweigh risk of injury. In fact, half of the respondents reported injuries while playing pickleball, but they did not report an associated fear that affected their choice to play. Despite a high number of on-court falls, the respondents reported less off-court falls than is expected for their age group. In light of the reported decreased number of off-court falls, the benefits of playing a physically demanding sport like pickleball may outweigh the risk of on-court injuries.