Selected Topics: Sports Medicine
Pickleball-Related Injuries Treated in Emergency Departments

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jemermed.2019.09.016Get rights and content

Abstract

Background

Pickleball is a paddle sport that combines many of the elements of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong. It is reported to be one of the faster growing sports in the United States and is popular among older adults. There is limited published information on pickleball-related injuries.

Objective

The objective of this study was to describe pickleball-related injuries treated in U.S. emergency departments (EDs).

Methods

An analysis was performed of pickleball-related injuries using data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission during 2001–2017.

Results

A total of 300 pickleball-related injuries were identified, resulting in a national estimate of 19,012 injuries. The annual estimated number of injuries increased during 2013–2017. Patients 50 years or older accounted for 90.9% of the patients; 50.4% were male. The injury occurred at a sports or recreational facility in 74.3% of the cases. The most common injuries were strain or sprain (28.7%) and fracture (27.7%). The affected body part was the lower extremity in 32.0% of the cases and upper extremity in 25.4%. The patient was treated or evaluated and released from the ED in 88.0% of the cases.

Conclusions

Based on NEISS data, pickleball-related injuries have been increasing in recent years. Although pickleball-related injuries have many similarities with those associated with other racquet sports, there were various differences (e.g., increasing trend and older patient age) that may need to be considered for the prevention and management of injuries related to the sport.

Introduction

Pickleball, invented in 1965 in Washington State, is a paddle sport that combines many of the elements of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong. It can be played indoors and outdoors on a badminton-sized court with a modified tennis net. Pickleball uses a paddle smaller than a tennis racquet but larger than a ping-pong paddle and a plastic ball with holes like a whiffle ball. It can be played as singles or doubles (two players to a team) (1,2).

Pickleball is reported to be one of the faster growing sports in the United States. According to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association's 2018 Pickleball Participant Report, pickleball had 3.1 million players in the United States, a 12% increase over the previous year. As of January 1, 2019, membership in the United States of America Pickleball Association had increased 650% since 2013, and the number of places to play pickleball more than doubled since 2010 (1). The sport is popular with community centers, physical education classes, YMCA facilities, and retirement communities (1). It is particularly popular among older adults because it is a low-impact sport, easy to learn, fosters positive social interaction, and provides health benefits (3, 4, 5).

Studies have examined injuries associated with other racquet sports, such as tennis, racquetball/squash, and badminton (6, 7, 8, 9). However, there is limited published information on pickleball-related injuries. One published article mentions anecdotal reports of pickleball-related injuries consisting of strains, sprains, and fractures to the limbs; tendonitis or tendon rupture; plantar fasciitis; rotator-cuff injuries; and blunt trauma to the head (3).

The objective of this study was to describe pickleball-related injuries treated in US emergency departments (EDs).

Section snippets

Materials and Methods

Data were obtained from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) operated by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The NEISS collects data on consumer product-related injuries in the United States from the EDs of approximately 100 hospitals as a probabilistic sample of the more than 5000 U.S. hospitals with EDs. The NEISS is a stratified sample based on ED size and geographic location. Information collected includes patient's age, sex, race, ethnicity, injury

Results

A total of 300 pickleball-related injuries were identified, resulting in a national estimate of 19,012 injuries. The annual estimated number of pickleball-related injuries during 2001–2012 ranged between 0 and 462 and then increased to 688 in 2013, 1391 in 2014, 4359 in 2015, 4712 in 2016, and 6072 in 2017. The estimated number of injuries in 2017 was 8.8 times the estimated number in 2013. Due to CPSC criteria, the annual estimates for 2000–2013 may be considered unstable and potentially

Discussion

This study identified 300 pickleball-related injuries treated in U.S. EDs during a 17-year period, for a national estimate of 19,012 injuries during that time period. These may be considered relatively few cases, particularly when compared to injuries reported from other racquet sports (6, 7, 8, 9). A small estimated number of pickleball-related injuries were reported each year during 2001–2012, then the estimated number increased each year during 2013–2017. The estimated number of injuries in

Conclusions

This study found that pickleball-related injuries have been increasing in recent years, in contrast to that observed for other racquet sports. Patients with pickleball-related injuries tended to be older, but were evenly divided by sex. Their injuries were most frequently a strain or sprain and affected the lower extremity. The majority of patients were treated or evaluated at an ED and then released. Although pickleball-related injuries had many similarities with those associated with other

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    Citation Excerpt :

    Professional NEISS coders view the medical charts at the selected hospitals and collect and code information including patient demographics and basic injury information, such as injury diagnosis, body parts affected, and location where the injury occurred as well as a brief narrative describing the incident [22,23]. The NEISS database has been used extensively to investigate sports-related injuries [24-28]. Data are publically available and de-identified; therefore, the study is exempt from institutional review board approval.

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Data are publically available and de-identified; therefore, the study is exempt from Institutional Review Board approval.

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