Don’t Get Sidelined this Pickleball Season

Here is how I like to describe these two words to help clear up much confusion and misinterpretation:

Exercise is doing specific strengthening movements to improve the size, strength, endurance and coordination of the muscular system in order to allow these muscles to do their job to complete an activity that uses them specifically.

Activity is simply doing any action (sports, walking, hiking, carrying groceries, climbing stairs, etc.) that uses the efficient energy of a muscle to complete that task. When a muscle is used to do a given activity, that muscle is used/broken down in order for it to produce the energy to complete its job to move the body.

Many people believe that just playing pickleball gets them fit and makes them a better player. While repetition and practice are required for improved skill, it is not the safest approach to stay injury free or to play to an individual’s full potential.

Most articles we read about pickleball suggest that it “is the fastest growing sport in the country” and is often followed by the fact that pickleball is also filling emergency rooms with injuries. One reason the injury stats are high with this sport is that older adults are playing more than other age groups, making the need for a fitness program more important as strength, flexibility and balance decrease with age. Although entry into the sport does not require a high level of physical fitness, pickleball does involve coordinated movement patterns that put various joints of the body under stress and require them all to work efficiently, both individually and collectively.

Functional joint mobility (range of motion/flexibility), stability (strength/endurance) and transferring of reaction forces (balance/twisting/change of direction) are all needed for safety and optimal performance. As a result, the importance of proper conditioning for any pickleball athlete cannot be underestimated since pickleball remains a very common, growing and favored form of healthy activity.

Functional exercise programs have their roots in the rehabilitation environments for athletes, with a focus on four exercise domains: spine stability (core strength), balance, flexibility and resistance training (strength). The success within the rehab field has given rise to translating this training focus to the healthy athlete as a way to better specifically prepare the body for the given demands of the particular sport. Pickleball has gained much attention and growth through the years, as it was initially considered a leisure sport that does not take much technical skill, especially for older adults.

Five Tips for a Practical Approach:

1. Exercise and activity are not the same things. If you want your activity to continue or progress, you had better add in some exercise.
2. Functional training is a useful way to specifically target the muscles and movements of a given sport to enhance their performance quickly.
3. Instruction, technique and equipment are merely factors that assist in completion of the activity of swinging that pickleball paddle. If the correct muscles are properly strength trained and the body learns to move efficiently, then technique and equipment become powerful.
4. It’s not a matter of whether you can do it, but rather how you do it. Just because you can move does not mean you move well. It is much easier and faster to prevent a problem than to repair something after it breaks.
5. Age is only a number. Regardless of age, if you can physically move it, you can strengthen it!

Step up and address life to play this game at your standards with a greater feeling of control to remain independently active, strong, resilient and fit to continue to enjoy your own unique pleasure that comes from being out on the court. Discover the benefits of adding a strengthening component to your pickleball training today. QCBN

By Michael Severino

Michael Severino holds a doctorate in physical therapy. He is a functional movement specialist and TPI certified golf rehab specialist. He created Fore Physio, located within the Espire Sports Facility at 3400 Gateway Blvd., Prescott, Arizona, 86303. For more information, or to schedule a free 30-minute Discovery Visit, contact mseverino@forephysio.com or call 1- 602-888-3703.