Harbor Physical Therapy

Summer is here! Check out our summer 2025 newsletter to learn health and fitness tips.

Why are Many People Injuring Themselves Playing Pickleball?

This is a great question. Pickleball is gaining popularity and many people are getting into the sport. It attracts people of all ages and fitness levels as it is the type of sport that can be played at different competitive levels. Pickleball is attracting people that are sedentary to get up and start playing. Of course, this is positive in that pickleball is getting people motivated to exercise but it also leads to more injury in people that are not physically equipped to start playing. In addition, pickleball involves going from standing relatively still to quick reactionary motions to get to the ball fast. This has led to a lot of achilles tendon ruptures, ankle sprains, and ankle fractures. If you want to get involved in pickleball, to avoid injury you want to make sure you warm up and stretch after play. In addition to that, you want to work on your overall strength and cardio fitness off the court to help prevent injury on the court.

A kettlebell offers versatility with exercise. They have gained popularity in gyms and physical therapy clinics in the past 5 years. Harbor Physical Therapy has a set of kettlebells!

A kettlebell mimics real-life movements which helps to create function exercises to build strength and muscle endurance. Some examples are a carry, squat, and hip hinge. It is idea for home or PT clinics as it requires limited space. It is great to improve mobility as it encourages a controlled range of motion. In physical therapy, we commonly use kettleballs for patients with lower back pain or shoulder injuries.

Do you use kettlebells in your workout?

Happy First day of Spring! Check out our spring newsletter to learn exercise tips and injury prevention. Enjoy the lovely weather!